Minutes Turning into Hours
by MoxiesdenLovesShandy
Summary: During their latest investigation into a robbery case, Andy and Sharon find themselves under fire, which then leads the two into dealing with something together.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

 **A/N:** Okay everyone, here is my next story. I have to give you all fair warning...I am not killing any of the main characters, so don't worry. Also, I started writing this chapter before TNT announced they were not renewing the show for another season, a stupid move if you ask me. I did not know what the writers were going to do with Sharon on the show when I was writing this story. I have 8 full chapters written already and I'm not sure how long this story will be in length. And for a timeline, this takes place a month after my last story _Wildfire_. Okay, enough with the notes and on with the story...

Chapter 1

His heart was pounding in his chest. He could hear it beating in his ears. He gripped his gun in his hands and glanced over at Sharon. She was right by his side as they waited. He was able to stop the bleeding from Sharon's gunshot wound to her left arm using his tie. It had been a couple of minutes since they had gun shots coming towards them inside the apartment building where they were currently blockaded in.

He pulled out his phone and looked at it. "Dammit," he mumbled to himself as he saw he had no signal. He glanced at Sharon again. She looked a little pale. "Sharon, sweetie, I need you to stay with me," he pleaded to her. "I'm here," she muttered back as she slowly looked at him. "Where's your phone?" he asked her and she pointed to her pants pocket. He took her phone out but quickly realized that she didn't have a signal either.

"So, what's the plan, Commander? We can't stay here because eventually they will find a way inside, and you need a doctor," Andy stated to her, hoping that she could focus on that instead of the throbbing pain in her arm. She closed her eyes for a brief second before opening them again. "Is there a way out of here?" she winced as she shifted herself to sit more upright.

Andy looked around the room that they found themselves in. He had barricaded the door earlier when they ran into the room. "Besides going out that door?" he glanced around. He looked up above them. "There's a window up there," he sighed and then looked around for some sort of ladder to get up to the window. "What kind of room are we in?" she asked him. He got up and looked around. "It looks like some sort of shelter, which would explain why we don't have a phone signal," he stated as he ran his hand along one of the walls.

Andy moved some boxes over to the window to see if he could get a boost up. He was able to and saw through the window, there was a fire escape. He then looked at the window to see how he could open it. He climbed back down and thought about their escape. He looked around the room and then saw all the items that were reported stolen from the art gallery. They had somehow run into the storage room where the robbery ring held everything. 'No wonder we were being shot at,' he thought.

He then came back and sat next to Sharon. Her head was slightly slumped to the side. "Hey, Sharon," he panicked. "Hmm?" she mumbled and slowly opened her eyes again. "You got to stay with me, okay?" he pleaded again to her. She nodded her head but couldn't seem to focus. "I need to get you out of here," he sat there and thought about how they were exactly going to do that.

For all he knew, Blake Harper and the other guy they encountered when they knocked on his door were still outside waiting for them. He glanced at his watch. They had been out of the office since 1:00 and it was now closer to 3:00 in the afternoon. He was hoping that Provenza would figure out that they weren't back yet and would try to somehow get a hold of them.

"Andy," Sharon said, barely above a whisper. He turned and focused on her. "What if we go out the way we came in, make a run for it," she suggested. "Those guys might still be out there, waiting for us," he shook his head.

"I know we haven't heard any gun shots lately, but I'm not going to risk them coming after us," Andy explained to her. She took a deep breath and winced. Andy placed his hand on her shoulder. He had checked her after he tied her wound off to see if she was hit anywhere else, but perhaps he had missed something.

"Let me look at you again," he asked her as he knelt down next to her. "I told you before, I don't think I'm hit anywhere else," she reasoned with him. "Would you just humor me, please?" he asked her and she finally nodded in agreement.

He saw a hole in her vest; it was about the size of a small bullet. He ran his hand on the underside of her vest. "Your vest stopped a bullet," he told her as he felt around the underside of her vest. He had felt smaller holes than the larger one in front.

In removing her vest, he had somehow pressed his hand into her side and she let out a gasp. "Sorry," he whispered as he looked into her eyes. He then unbuttoned her pink blouse. That's when he saw tiny circles of blood on her skin. Although the vest stopped one of the bullets that were sprayed in their direction, it had seemed to have fragmented into her left side.

She had blood seeping through into her blouse as Andy took her jacket and rolled it up. He then pressed it into her side to help stop the bleeding. "Do you think you can hold this to your side?" he whispered to her. She nodded her response and then her arm started to bleed again. Andy cinched his tie tighter around her arm as her blood started to run down her arm again. He quickly buttoned her blouse again and placed her vest back on. "Come on, I'm getting us out of here," he told her as he stood up and lifted her with him.

The makeshift ladder that he used to get up to the window needed to hold both of them at the same time. He didn't know how that was going to happen but he had to get Sharon to a hospital right away. When he looked out the window before, he thought he saw the fire escape and the alley between the buildings. They both heard a banging noise. Andy turned around and knew that it was coming from the door. "Shit," he mumbled to himself and grabbed a hold of Sharon.

They both stepped up on the box and they were closer to the ledge that was by the window. More pounding could be heard from outside the door. "Just leave me, get help and come back," Sharon muttered to him. "No, I'm not going to do that," he shook his head. "Come on," he lifted her so that she could grab on to the ledge and boosted her up there. He then climbed up and joined her as the boxes fell back down.

He looked at the window and saw the latch and opened it. He then took his pocket knife and cut through the screen and pushed it out of the way. The door was starting to budge. "Sharon, get out through the window," he told her as he held her hand. She moved her body and cried out in pain. "Come on baby," he whispered and she was halfway through the window when the door busted open.

Andy pulled out his gun and started to fire at the men entering the room. He shot one of the men and then scooted himself out the window. Sharon was sitting on the fire escape when Andy came through the window. He picked her up and they started making their way down it. "Come on!" he yelled as they both made their way down. Andy looked back above them to see if they were being followed. He knew that they had to make it down to the ground and to their car quickly.

They got to the bottom and heard gun shots from above. Andy held Sharon close to him as they knelt next to the dumpster. Shots were ricocheting off of the object. They quickly ran to the front of the building, Andy basically carrying Sharon on his side. There were lots of people on the sidewalk and as Sharon and Andy moved to their car, people started to run. Andy opened the car door and placed Sharon inside and closed the door. He then ran around to the front of the car, making sure no one followed them, and then got in.

He called it into Central over the radio in the car and dispatch responded. "We will send an ambulance to your location," they said. "Negative Central, it's not safe and I'm transporting the Commander to St. Leo's," Andy said in a huff. "One suspect is down, I don't know about the other. Male, mid-thirties wearing black pants and a green jacket, maybe six foot tall. Armed and dangerous," Andy stated over the radio. "10-4," dispatch stated and then two squad cars pulled up almost instantly.

He glanced at Sharon and her eyes were still open, she was still with him. "Lieutenant!" one of the officers called out to Andy. "There's two suspects, male, I shot one of them as we escaped. My Commander has been hit and I'm taking her to the hospital," Andy informed him. "We got it from here, sir, go, go, go," the officer stated and tapped the hood of the car. Andy then turned the lights and siren on and sped off in the direction of St. Leo's. He pulled out his phone as he was driving and dialed Provenza's number.

"Flynn, where the hell have you two been? We've been trying to get a hold of you" Provenza said over the phone. "Sharon's been shot, I'm taking her to St. Leo's, uniforms pulled up as we took off from the apartment building," Andy shouted into the phone as it was on speaker. "What?" Provenza stated in disbelief. "Look, just get someone to pick Matthew up from school and meet me at the hospital," Andy said and then disconnected the call.

He maneuvered the car through the afternoon traffic, all the time glancing at Sharon. "Sharon?" he said as he grabbed her left hand. It was covered in her blood and she felt cool to him. He turned down the street and into the ambulance bay of the hospital. He turned the car off and jumped out as two nurses and two orderlies came out with a stretcher. Andy opened the car door. "LAPD, she's been shot in her left arm, I tried stopping the bleeding and it looks like there's bullet fragments in her side," he rattled off to the nurses who placed Sharon on the stretcher and wheeled her inside. Andy was right there with them.

They wheeled Sharon into the emergency room and started working on her. One of the nurses turned around to look at Andy. She saw the blood on him. "Sir, are you shot as well?" she asked him as Andy kept looking at Sharon laying there as the Doctor and nurses tended to her. "Sir?" she said again. Andy blinked and then looked at the nurse. "No," he simply said to her. "Are you related to her?" the nurse asked him. "She's my wife," he said and the nurse nodded.

"I need a CBC, and a portable x-ray down here, I want to know what we are dealing with!" Andy heard the doctor barking out orders as he watched from outside the exam room in the ER. "Blood pressure is low but steady," one of the nurses stated. Andy kept watching them work on Sharon. They were moving in and out of her room quickly. Another nurse came over to Andy and handed him Sharon's weapon, badge, and bullet-proof vest. Sharon's purse was still in the car so he placed her badge in his pants pocket and secured her weapon on his belt.

They brought a portable x-ray machine into her room and the technician took some pictures of what the doctor wanted. "Can I stay with her?" Andy asked the nurse that handed him her belongings in a plastic bag, including her wedding rings. "They are going to prep her for surgery. I'll make sure you get a chance to see her before they take her upstairs," the nurse informed Andy and he nodded. The doctor looked at the x-ray picture that the technician handed to him and he saw where all the bullet fragments had penetrated through.

The doctor then turned around and saw Andy standing there. He walked over to him as the nurses continued to prep Sharon. "Are you the husband?" the doctor asked Andy. "Yes, is she going to be okay?" his voice cracked as he watched her.

"She's lost a lot of blood, but once we repair the wound to her arm, we will give her more blood to compensate for what she lost," the doctor started to explain to him. "I'm a little concerned about the bullet fragments on her side. It doesn't look like they penetrated any vital organs, but I'm going to have to remove them via surgery and will do so once we stop the bleeding," he continued further.

"Is she going to be okay?" Andy asked him again. "Yes, you did a good job with the makeshift tourniquet around her arm to apply pressure to her wound," the doctor stated. "How come it started to bleed again after it had stopped?" Andy asked him. "I'm thinking one of the arteries caused it to start bleeding again, I'll see when I go in to repair it," he explained. "We're going to be taking her up now for surgery, there's a waiting room up there for you to wait in," the doctor stated to Andy and he nodded.

The doctor returned to the room where Sharon was located and the nurses were ready to move her. Andy walked up to the gurney to see Sharon as they were wheeling her towards the elevators. He saw that her eyes were starting to get groggy from the medicine they were giving her. "Hey, I'll wait for you," he said and gave her a smile. She looked at him but couldn't stay focused. They got into the elevator but Andy had to wait for the next one. He watched her as the elevator doors closed and suddenly he felt like he got punched in the stomach.

"Lieutenant? You okay?" the nurse he was standing with asked him as they waited for another elevator. Andy just gave her a look and the nurse knew. "She's going to be okay," she said as the elevator door opened and they stepped inside. "How long have the two of you been married?" the nurse asked him, trying to get his mind at ease. "Not even a year, but it seems like forever," he told her as the doors opened and they walked out to the surgery floor. There was a waiting area to the right of the elevators and the nurse directed him over there.

"This is where you can wait; it's not really busy up here now. There's water or soda in that fridge over there, help yourself," the nurse said and pointed where everything was to Andy. "Thank you," he mumbled as he looked around in a daze. "We'll keep you updated on how she's doing," the nurse squeezed his hand and then left the area, leaving Andy by himself.

Andy was still holding her vest and he still had his on. He moved over to the chairs and decided to take his vest off. He didn't need it anymore. As he took it off he examined it, not a mark or scratch on his vest. He placed it on the chair and then took a look at Sharon's vest. FID would probably want to look at it themselves for their investigation. 'FID, shit' Andy thought to himself as he sat down on the chair. He had discharged his weapon several times; Sharon did as well, and knew they would be coming down soon for some sort of statement.

He didn't want to have to deal with them right now, on top of everything, and hoped that Provenza would get here soon so that he could run interference if needed. He sat there, leaned over, and placed his hands on his head. Sharon had to be okay, not only for everyone's sake, but for his as well. He stared at the floor as he sat there thinking about how this latest case got to where they were right now.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

 **A/N:** Thanks everyone for the wonderful reviews so far! I'm glad everyone is enjoying this story. So just a little note that there are going to be flashbacks throughout this story as we wait with Andy to hear some news on how Sharon is doing. The flashback times are in bold and italics and when we get to the present time, it will say that too as to not confuse anyone reading. Okay, here is Chapter 2...

Chapter 2

 ** _77 hours earlier…._**

Andy rolled over in bed and noticed he was alone. He sat up and looked around the room as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He saw her sitting on the chair that was by their patio window. She had turned the chair to look outside. "Sharon?" he whispered, loud enough for her to hear him. "Hmm?" she turned her head to face him and sighed. "You okay?" he asked her as he sat on the edge of their bed.

"Yes, I just couldn't sleep, that's all," she replied and gave him a smile. Andy stood up from their bed and walked over to join her. He knelt down beside her and held her hand. "Do you want me to make you some tea?" he asked her as she stared out into the night. "No, you don't need to do that," she whispered to him and then cleared her throat. He held her hand and brought it up to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

"What's troubling you then?" he asked her as he watched her sit there. "I spoke with Emily last night and she mentioned something to the effect of not getting picked up for the part she had auditioned for," Sharon spoke in a quieter tone. She then turned her head to face Andy. "Oh, well, is the dancing company not giving her the chance or how does that work?" he asked her as he did not know anything regarding how auditions in the ballet went.

Sharon smiled at him and loved the fact that he was interested in what her children were doing. "Well, she's part of the ballet company but in order to stay with them, she has to get her contract renewed every couple of years," Sharon explained to him and Andy listened.

She adjusted how she was sitting in the chair and folded her legs up underneath her so that she could look at Andy better. "She auditioned for the role of head dancer in the upcoming production of _Cinderella_ , but she did not get it," Sharon said disappointingly.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. She must be devastated," Andy sympathized and Sharon nodded. "What is she going to do?" he asked her as he shifted her around and sat down on the chair, which the allowed Sharon to sit on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tightly to him.

"Well, I told her to wait and see what happens, because sometimes something great will come along when you least expect it," Sharon laid her head on his shoulder and relaxed into him. He kissed the top of her head and held her close to him. They stayed there for the rest of the early morning until their alarm went off.

Sharon stretched her body and woke Andy up as she stood up from the chair and him. "Morning" she said to him as she stretched her arms above her head. "Morning," he mumbled as he reached up and pulled her down, making her laugh as he pulled her in for a kiss. She broke their kiss and then walked into their bathroom, leaving him sitting there for a minute. He then followed her into the bathroom and began getting ready for work.

They were out the door and headed to Matthew's school to drop him off. He was already a month into the new school year and he was enjoying it. Fourth grade was proving to be a little bit challenging but he was holding his own. Andy pulled their car up at the school's drop off zone and Matthew jumped out, grabbing his backpack, and then closed the door behind him.

"Bye!" he waved to them as he walked over to where the other students were walking into the school. Sharon and Andy both waved to him as they watched him walk into the school building. "I guess he's adjusting fine to fourth grade now," Andy looked at Sharon who was still watching the school building as if she was waiting for Matthew to come out again. He smiled and grabbed her left hand in his right hand and then drove them to work.

When they arrived in the parking garage, Sharon's phone rang as Andy parked the car. She pulled it out of her purse to see who was calling her. "It's Mason," she muttered as she answered it. Andy shook his head slightly as Sharon spoke to the Assistant Chief over the phone. "Good morning Chief, how can I help you?" Sharon said as she turned to look at Andy and gave him a quizzical look.

"Commander, are you on your way in?" Mason said cutting through the pleasantries. "Ah, we just pulled into the parking garage, sir," Sharon stated and then Andy exited the car as she gathered her things while still on the phone. "Good, stop by my office before you head into yours, please," Mason asked. "Will do, Chief," Sharon said and then hung up her phone as Andy held the door open for her to exit the car.

"What was that about?" Andy asked her as they walked over to the elevators. "I don't know exactly," Sharon shook her head wondering why Mason wanted to see her right away. They both stepped inside the elevator and pressed the button for their floor.

"When we get up, head to the office, maybe we caught a case or something like that, and I will go see what Assistant Chief Mason wants," Sharon stated as the elevator took them up to their floor. Andy nodded and the doors opened. They both stepped out and Andy watched Sharon turn left to go down to Mason's office. He then headed to the Murder Room to see if anything was waiting for them.

Sharon knocked on the door to Mason's office and waited for him to say something. "Come in," she heard and the opened the door. Mason was sitting behind his desk as Sharon walked inside his office. "Ah, Sharon, come and have a seat," Mason stated to her and pointed to the chairs in front of his desk. "Something came across my desk this morning and I want you and your Major Crimes team to look into it," Mason explained to Sharon as he handed her the file in question.

Sharon read the file as she sat there in Mason's office. "How is this a major crime?" she asked him as she paged through the file. "This looks like simple robbery to me," she added as she read some more. "Ah, I knew you were going to say that," Mason stated as he walked around his desk and leaned against it as he faced Sharon.

"There's several persons of interest in this robbery ring. The list keeps going and going on what they have stolen, from simple break-ins at homes to more complex things like vehicles at a dealership," Mason explained to her as she sat there. "How much have they stolen?" she asked him.

"Over five million dollars in items," he stated. "And this is just this one group doing the robberies?" she asked as she paged through the report again. "As far as we know, yes, but there is one guy that might be the ring leader, the problem is that no one can link him in to this crime spree," Mason answered her.

"And you want Major Crimes to do that?" she asked even though she already knew the answer. "Exactly," Mason said as he clapped his hands together and stood up to walk back to his chair. "Okay, my team and I will get on it, sir," Sharon said as she stood up and walked towards the door to exit his office. "Thank you Commander," Mason said to her as she walked outside his office and went about the rest of his day.

Sharon walked down the hallway towards her office and the rest of her team. She thought about the uncertainty that her daughter faced in New York with her ballet company as she made her way to the door where Major Crimes was located. One thing for sure with regards to working for the LAPD, you were always investigating something that was going on, which in turn meant job security. She opened the door and walked inside to join the rest of her team.

Her squad was gathered around Provenza's desk when she entered the office. Andy immediately turned his attention to her and saw her carrying a file folder, which could only mean that they had caught a case. "Ah, Commander, what did Assistant Chief Mason want?" Provenza inquired as he saw Sharon join them. "He would like for Major Crimes to investigate this robbery ring," she said as she handed Provenza the file.

"Here Flynn, read this," Provenza handed him the folder and Andy grabbed it. He started to go over what the case was about but was interrupted by Provenza calling his name again. "Flynn," he heard. "Hey Flynn," he heard again.

 ** _Present time..._**

"Flynn!" he heard and felt someone touch his shoulder. He looked up and saw Provenza standing next to him. He was in the waiting room. Still waiting for an update on Sharon. "Hey," Andy muttered to him as he took a seat.

"I brought you a different shirt from your locker, in case you wanted to maybe change," Provenza told him. "Have you heard anything lately?" Provenza asked as he looked at his friend who seemed distracted at the moment. Andy shook his head no.

"How long has she been in there?" Provenza asked him. Andy took a deep breath and let it out slowly before he looked at his watch. "Half hour maybe?" he answered him and then leaned back in the chair so that his head was against the wall.

"I have Julio picking up Matthew and bringing him here. Rusty was at the DA's office, he'll be here shortly. I told Mike and Amy, along with Buzz, to head over to where you guys were located and find out what was going on there," Provenza informed Andy as they sat there waiting.

"Did you call the other kids?" Provenza asked him. "No, I was going to wait until I heard something from the Doctor before notifying them," Andy answered, stood up, and began to pace.

 ** _70 hours earlier..._**

"So, this robbery ring has stolen items totaling five million dollars?" Andy questioned as he looked over to Provenza and Sharon who were standing in front of the Murder Board. "Yes, there's an itemized list in there of all of the things that were reported stolen and the persons of interest that we need to locate," Sharon stated.

"I want each one of you to take their name, run it in the system, find out everything you can about them, and we are either going to go pick them up and bring them here for questioning, or question them where they are located," Sharon briefed her team and then headed to her office.

"Alright, let's split this up, people!" Provenza gave orders to everyone. Andy looked at the person he was handed, Blake Harper, and returned to his desk. He stared at Croelick's picture in the folder that was sitting at his desk for a couple of seconds before he placed that back inside his desk drawer. It had been over a month since they dealt with Croelick. Now, they had a new case and it was taking priority. He glanced at his watch and sighed. It was going to be a long day.

A couple of hours later, the team met in the RACR room, after compiling all of the research on what they could find. Sharon and Andy were the last to arrive in the room and Andy took a seat at the table while Sharon stood to the side in order to see the screen. "Alright, what do we have?" Sharon asked and Buzz pressed a button to start everything.

"Okay, so the first person of interest in this robbery ring is Daniel Jones. He is in his early thirties and his last known residence is 1600 Vine Street. It's an apartment building right by the Hollywood Walk of Fame," Mike stated as Buzz flipped through the pictures on the screen.

"What does he do for work?" Sharon asked as she turned to Mike. "According to the records, he's a mortgage broker," Mike answered. "Well, he's in the right business for robbing people," Provenza muttered as he sat next to Andy at the table.

"Any arrests that we know of?" Sharon asked. "No, he's clean or never been caught in the commission of a crime," Mike answered her as he sat down at the table. "We can track his whereabouts, ma'am. Find out where he's at and go talk to him," Julio suggested. "Not yet, Detective. Let's see what the rest of the people look like," Sharon answered him as she placed her hands on her hips. "Who's next?" she asked.

"Uh, next up is Chi Chi Gonzalez. He's a former gang member of the 112 and his last known address is 3400 East 51st street. As you can imagine, he has a long rap sheet and spent some time in jail. They claim he's reformed now, on the straight and narrow but I don't buy that, ma'am," Julio stated and Buzz placed the information on the screen. "What does he do for work, Detective?" Sharon asked Julio. "He works at a bank in his neighborhood," Julio answered.

"Okay, Andy, who do you have?" Sharon asked as she turned around and looked at him. "Blake Harper, mid-thirties as well, he likes to gamble, been seen on the poker circuits in the area, but his full time job is working for the city in the water department," Andy informed everyone.

"All of these guys don't reside near each other so it's hard to imagine they are all part of the same ring," he added as Buzz placed where Blake resides up on the screen. "Last known address is in Westmont," Andy stated as he looked at Sharon. "Thank you," Sharon told him as she moved in front of the screen. "Next?" Sharon asked and it seemed to echo in Andy's mind.

 ** _Present time..._**

"Flynn," he heard his partner call his name as he stared out the window in the waiting room. He was still waiting to hear something, anything really on how Sharon was doing. "Matthew's going to be here any minute now, he's not going to want to see your shirt like that, believe me, I know," Provenza tried to convince Andy to change his shirt. Andy turned around and ran his hand through his hair. He walked over to where Provenza was standing and grabbed the shirt that he had brought him. It was a plain white dress shirt.

He walked a few feet to the men's room that was next to the waiting area and changed his shirt. He looked at himself in the mirror; he had forgotten to shave this morning so there was some greyish stubble along his chin, face, and mouth. He had left his suit jacket on his desk and opted to wear his LAPD windbreaker jacket when he and Sharon left to go out into the field. He splashed some cold water on his face and then returned to the waiting room.

Patrice was there now sitting with Provenza and when Andy walked out; she stood up and gave him a hug. "You know she's going to be alright," she told him in their embrace. "Thanks for being here," Andy told her and then walked over to the bag that Provenza had brought with him, and shoved the bloodied shirt into the bag. He then started to pace about the room.

Just then, a nurse had stepped out into the waiting area. "Lieutenant Flynn?" she called out and Andy's head perked up. "Yes," he called out to her. "Hi, I'm Racheal, one of the nurses on your wife's team. Is there a place where we can sit down," Racheal asked him and his eyes went to worry fast. He didn't know what to say and Patrice tapped him on his shoulder. "You can sit over there," Patrice said as she pointed to another area of the waiting room. Andy nodded and the nurse followed him over to the area.

Andy took a seat in the chair and the nurse sat next to him. "The reason why the surgery is taking so long is that the shrapnel in your wife's left side did a little more damage than we originally thought," Racheal started to explain to Andy. "What do you mean more damage?" Andy asked her. "The bullet that penetrated her vest, well the reason why it went through as shrapnel was that it was an armor-piercing bullet," Racheal explained.

Andy was half listening to the nurse and half worrying about Sharon lying there on the operating table. "One of the shrapnel's nicked her spleen. She had some internal bleeding, but the doctor stopped it. That's why it was taking longer than he anticipated," Racheal placed a hand on Andy's arm.

"Okay," he muttered as he was trying to understand what the nurse was telling him. "Is she going to be okay?" he asked her with a worried look on his face. She nodded. "The doctor was in the process of finishing when I came out here to speak to you," she added and then stood up from the chair.

"When they're finished and moved her into recovery, I'll let you know," Racheal added as she left the waiting room. Provenza and Patrice turned to Andy who was still sitting there and they walked over to him.

"What did the nurse say?" Provenza asked him. "Uh, one of the bullets that penetrated her vest shattered into shrapnel and went into her left side. One of them nicked her spleen so she had," he started and then took a breath. "She had some internal bleeding but the doctor was able to stop it," he finished.

"They're finishing up right now so once she gets moved to recovery, they'll let me know," Andy looked at Patrice and she nodded. Just then, two members of FID walked into the waiting room.

"Lieutenant Flynn, we are going to need to get a statement from you and we need both of your weapons since they were fired at the scene," Sergeant Elliot stated. "Yeah, here you go," Andy said as he handed both weapons to him. "And you'll need her vest, it was um, penetrated by a cop killer bullet which turned into shrapnel," Andy added.

Sergeant Elliot took a hold of the Commander's vest and placed it in an evidence bag that was big enough. "She's tough sir, she'll pull through," he told Andy and Andy nodded. "Sir, we can wait for your statement, if you want," Sergeant Elliot informed him. "Thank you," Andy said as he looked at the Sergeant. Sharon always had a soft spot for him and she trusted him completely which made Andy trust him as well.

Provenza's phone then rang and he pulled it out. "It's Tao," he said out loud to Andy and then answered it. "Mike, what is going on down there?" he asked him and waited for Mike's response.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

 **A/N:** Thanks everyone for the wonderful reviews so far! I'm glad everyone is enjoying this story.

Chapter 3

 _ **Present Time**_

Mike stood at the scene of where Sharon and Andy were at this afternoon. Patrol had set up a perimeter and stopped everyone from going inside the building until SWAT had arrived. Mike nodded to the patrol officer after he had briefed him and then walked back to where Amy and Buzz were standing.

"They are waiting for SWAT to come. Apparently, the suspect is held up in an apartment and is not coming out," Mike informed them. "I'm going to call Provenza and let him know what's happening here," Mike said and pulled out his phone. "Hopefully he'll have news about the Commander," Amy stated and they waited there.

"Mike, what is going on down there?" Provenza said as he answered his phone. "The suspect is held up in an apartment, they are currently waiting on SWAT to come on the scene here. I guess they gave chase after patrol arrived on the scene. Any news on the Commander?" Mike stated to him.

"She's still in surgery. Flynn spoke to a nurse not too long ago. Uh, Mike, the bullet that hit her was a cop killer. When it hit her vest it fragmented into pieces and went into her side, she had some internal bleeding as a result," Provenza informed him as he watched Andy leaning against the wall of the waiting room.

There was a short pause between Mike and Provenza over the phone before they spoke again. "Keep me posted," Provenza told Mike and then he hung up his phone. Just then, Julio showed up with Matthew. "Dad!" Matthew cried out as he ran over to him and gave him a hug. "Matthew," Andy muttered into his neck as he knelt down and hugged him.

"Is Mom going to be okay?" he asked him. Andy pulled away slightly to look at him. "The doctor is patching her up right now, but she'll be okay," Andy told him, not wanting for him to worry about it. "I'm sorry I didn't clean my room up last night," Matthew cried. "Is that why Mom got shot?" he added and Andy looked at him and shook his head.

"No Matthew, that's not the reason why she got shot," Andy said trying to comfort him. "I promise I'll clean my room up from now on when Mom tells me to do it," Matthew pleaded with Andy. Andy smiled at the boy and pulled him in for another embrace.

"Well, that's good to know buddy," Andy chuckled his response to the kid. He broke their hug and looked at the boy. "Why don't you go have a seat over there, maybe start on your homework if you can while I talk to Uncle Louie," Andy wiped the tear from Matthew's face and stood up.

Matthew nodded and grabbed his backpack that he had dropped earlier and went over to sit at the table and chairs. Andy watched him walk over there and then turned to Provenza who was speaking to Julio. "I want you to go with Lieutenant Cooper and the rest of SIS, round up Martin Lipinski and Daniel Jones. I want them arrested, we can figure out the charges later," Provenza told Julio. "Yes sir," Julio answered and then turned to Andy as he came up behind them.

"Thanks Julio," Andy shook his hand. "Not a problem sir. He reminds me of Mark," Julio smiled and then left to meet up with Lieutenant Cooper. Andy then looked at Provenza. "So, you're arresting all the dirt bags associated with this ring then?" he asked him. "Didn't give me much of a choice in the matter when two of them opened fire on my best friend and my commanding officer," Provenza stated to him.

"Andy?" he heard his name being called and turned around to find Patrice there standing with a cup of coffee in her hand. "Don't worry, it's decaf," she assured him as he took the cup from her. "Thanks," he muttered and took a sip. "Can I ask you a question?" he asked Patrice as they stood there. She nodded. "What exactly does your spleen do?" he asked her. Patrice sighed before she answered him.

"Well, Andy, the spleen helps your immune system fight diseases. It filters red blood cells through your body along with white blood cells," Patrice explained to him. "Immune system, will her body still be able to fight things off?" Andy then had a worried look on his face.

"Andy, I'm sure everything will be okay," Patrice told him placing her hand on his shoulder for comfort.

Just then, the nurse came back out and Andy and the rest of them turned to her as she walked towards them. "Lieutenant, your wife is out of surgery now and will be in a recovery room shortly. You're welcome to sit with her there until they move her to a regular room," Racheal stated to him. "Thank you," Andy said releasing the breath he didn't realize he was holding when she walked out. "You can follow me and I'll show you the way," she informed him and he nodded.

Andy turned around to face Provenza and Patrice. "Let Rusty know, um, can you call Nicole and tell her, and Ricky and Emily," Andy started to ramble off but Provenza nodded. "Go, sit with her. I'll handle it," Provenza told him. Andy glanced over at Matthew who was doing his homework.

"We'll watch him, don't worry," he again informed him and Andy nodded. He then followed the nurse towards the recovery wing. As he was walking down the hallway, his mind went back to earlier in the case.

 _ **65 hours earlier**_

Sharon was sitting in her office when Andy knocked on her door. "Come in," she said as she paged through one of the files on her desk. "Hey," he said as he walked in her office. She looked up at him and smiled. "Hey yourself," she replied and placed the file back down on her desk. "So, I was able to track down some of the stolen items that were reported," he said as he handed her the list of items.

She looked them over while he still spoke to her. "So, what do you want to do?" he asked. "Well, would it be possible to interview the people who had these items stolen from them? I know Robbery did that on certain items but not all of them," Sharon suggested. "We could go through that," he said and started to leave her office before he stopped just short of the door. "Um, do you want to go out to dinner tonight?" he asked her. "That's if we get this part wrapped up in time," he added and tried to gauge her reaction.

"Well," she sighed and he took that as a no answer. She didn't want him to look like a lost puppy dog the way he was looking right now. "I'll tell you what. I promise the two of us will go out when we wrap up this case, for sure," she told him and he gave her a slight smile and nodded. She nodded back and continued with the file on her desk.

 _ **Present time**_

Andy walked in the recovery room and saw Sharon lying there on the hospital bed. She was hooked up to a monitor and had an oxygen cannula in her nose. She looked so fragile as she lay there. She had a bandage on her left arm where she had been shot. He could only assume there was another bandage on her left side from the surgery.

He walked over to her bed and sat down on the chair that the nurse had provided him. He took a hold of her left hand. It was cold to the touch and Andy didn't like that feeling. "Is this your way of getting back at me all those times you were sitting there while I was lying in a hospital bed?" he chuckled to her but she didn't respond. Andy wasn't expecting a response either. "You still owe me dinner out somewhere, and I will hold you to that as soon as you get better," he just sat there and watched her.

 _ **51 hours earlier**_

The team was back in the office that morning after having spent the late afternoon yesterday interviewing the people who claimed ownership to the items that were stolen. Sharon walked out of her office. "I have a meeting with Assistant Chief Mason this morning, hopefully I shouldn't be too long," she informed Provenza, Andy, and the rest of the team as they sat at their desks.

"Commander, we are going to figure out who the leader of this group is. Sanchez and Sykes are bringing in one of the guys now for an interview," Provenza informed her. "Really? Which one?" she said as she looked at the Murder Board. "Chi Chi Gonzalez. We figured it was easier for him to come to us than vice versa," Provenza answered her.

"Well, then I can cancel my meeting with Mason. I'll just tell him that something's come up in the case. He'll be happy to hear that," Sharon said as she wondered why the Lieutenant didn't inform her earlier of this. Chief Mason had been asking her several times for updates on this case and for that matter, it was starting to annoy her.

"We can handle this Commander, if you still want to have your meeting," Provenza stated as he glanced at Andy. Sharon looked at Andy as well. "I get the feeling that you don't want me here to witness this interview, Lieutenant. Why is that?" she asked him.

"I didn't think you wanted to deal with his lawyer," Provenza said. "And who's his lawyer?" Sharon asked but before Provenza or Andy could answer her, Amy and Julio returned. Chi Chi walked in behind them and then Sharon knew why her two Lieutenants didn't want her to deal with his lawyer. Jack walked in next to Chi Chi.

As soon as Jack made his way inside the Murder Room, he immediately made eye contact with Sharon. Sharon stared back at Jack and it was broken up by Andy stepping in front of Sharon, as a way to shield her from her ex-husband.

"Sharon, nice to know that your division likes to go to places of work and make a scene before asking innocent people downtown to answer questions," Jack stated as he walked past her and headed with his client into the interview room.

She turned to Andy and gave him a look. "You knew he was his lawyer and didn't tell me?" Sharon asked Provenza as she turned to him now. "I only knew when Julio called us to let us know they were coming back here with them," Provenza stated. "I wasn't hiding this Commander," Provenza added. "Tell her Flynn!" Provenza hit Andy in his shoulder with his hand. "I don't want to hear it," Sharon stared at him briefly before she started to walk to the interview room.

Andy watched her as she walked away from them. Sharon stopped before she entered the interview room and looked at Andy. "Lieutenant Flynn, please join me," she said and Andy glanced at Provenza and then started to walk towards Sharon. Everyone else went into Electronics to watch the interview take place.

"Ah look, the happy couple," Jack stated as Sharon and Andy entered the interview room together. "Forgive me if I don't return the pleasantries, Jack. Let's cut through all of that and get down to why your client is part of a robbery ring that totaled five million dollars in stolen items," Sharon wasted no time getting into the interview. This made Andy smirk a little as he sat there across from Jack and his client.

Jack cleared his throat and knew his ex-wife and her current husband would stay strictly on business. "My client is not part of whatever robbery ring you think he is. He is a good citizen who works just like anybody else, providing for his family," Jack stated as he looked at Sharon. "Yeah, a good citizen," Andy muttered under his breath as he looked at the two of them sitting across the table. "Your client here has a long rap sheet, former gang member of the 112, and now all of a sudden he's reformed?" Andy added as Sharon sat there watching Jack.

"Whatever my client did in his past is just that, in his past. He's made up for all of that and paid his debt to society," Jack fired back. "Okay, well then Chi Chi, perhaps you can tell us about Martin Lipinski, or Daniel Jones, or how about Blake Harper?" Sharon asked Chi Chi as he sat there quietly.

"I don't know those people," Chi Chi responded. "Oh, well let me refresh your memory. Here is a picture of you and Martin Lipinski talking to one another outside of an art gallery," Sharon showed him the picture that they had.

Jack took a look at it and gave it back to Sharon. "This is fuzzy, maybe you can see my client but doesn't prove anything," Jack stated. "Well, here's another one of your client talking with Daniel Jones at a car dealership, and that picture is perfectly clear, not fuzzy Jack," Sharon stated as she looked at Jack. He smiled at her and then looked at the other picture.

It did show, clear as day, his client speaking with another man about something. "So who's this Daniel Jones that you claim my client is speaking to in this picture?" Jack asked them. "He's a mortgage broker, and we thought your client might be looking to re-finance or buy something that required a mortgage but, that wasn't the case here, isn't that right, Chi Chi?" Andy asked him. Chi Chi did not answer them; he just sat there and tapped his fingers on the table.

"We found his fingerprints on some items that were recovered yesterday, one in particular can actually be seen in the picture we showed you," Sharon stated and pointed out the Lamborghini car in the photo.

"You see Jack; this picture was taken at a dealership that sells foreign sports cars. Your client here was co-conspiring with Daniel Jones to steal this car that they were standing in front of, which they did that night after the dealership closed," Sharon explained to the both of them and then showed them another picture.

"Here is your client, driving the Lamborghini off the lot. Look at the timestamp on the picture," Sharon added. Jack looked at the picture then back up at Sharon and Andy. "So what do you want?" Jack asked them. "We want to know how many people are involved in this robbery ring that your client seems to be a part of," Sharon stated.

Jack turned to his client and whispered something to him. "What's in it for my client if he cooperates?" Jack asked them. Sharon turned to Andy. "If your client cooperates with us, we'll be sure he gets a deal from the DA's office," Andy stated as he shifted in his chair. Jack laughed. "Oh come on! You guys don't have a deal in place?" Jack stated, laughing still. "That's new for you Sharon," he added.

"You either charge my client now with grand theft auto, and get him a deal, or we walk out of here and you'll have to arrest him later on," Jack stated as he wanted to see if they were bluffing. The evidence they had was circumstantial at best and wouldn't hold up in court just yet. They needed more information. "That's what I thought," Jack stood up and his client did as well.

Both Sharon and Andy stood up and she nodded to him. Andy walked over to Chi Chi and placed his hand up to stop him. "Not so fast, you're under arrest for grand theft auto, turn around and face the wall," he told Chi Chi and he cooperated.

"Wait a minute, Sharon! What about our deal?" Jack stated to her. "There's no deal Jack, your client clearly stole this vehicle, and if he didn't want to cooperate regularly then you'll have to take it up with the DA's office when he's arraigned," Sharon stated to Jack.

Jack huffed out after his client was taken to booking by two officers. Andy watched Sharon stand there. "You okay?" he asked her. "Jack being Jack," she answered. "Now, you and I need to talk," she told Andy and walked out of the room.

 _ **Present time**_

Sharon stirred as she lay there on the hospital bed. This got the attention of Andy who was still sitting with her while she was in recovery. "Sharon?" he whispered to her and held her hand. She squeezed his hand in hers and started to open her eyes. He saw her green eyes looking back at his and gave her a smile. She looked him over through her grogginess. "Hi," she said breathlessly as she closed her eyes again.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

Chapter 4

 _ **44 hours earlier**_

Sharon sat in her office as Andy joined her. "I appreciate you and Lieutenant Provenza protecting me from my big, bad, ex-husband, however, I don't need you to do that," Sharon informed him and Andy sighed. "It wasn't like that at all," Andy tried to explain his actions. "Oh? It sure looked like that to me," Sharon quipped back.

"Did we know that Jack was coming in as the guy's lawyer? Yes. Did we not tell you on purpose? No. Was I trying to be the better man in all of this by stepping in and saving you from having to deal with Jack? Yes. Did it backfire on me? Oh you bet," Andy explained as Sharon listened to him. She smiled when he was finished and maybe even let out a small chuckle.

"Andy," she smiled as he stood there in front of her. "Hmm?" he muttered as he looked at her. She stood up and walked over to him. She played with his tie and smoothed it down his dress shirt. "I can handle Jack, but thank you," she whispered to him as she leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Now, we should get back to work so that we can leave here on time and pick Matthew up from school," she informed him as she made her way outside of her office.

"We need to find Daniel Jones," Sharon said to the rest of the squad. "I called his secretary ma'am, he's currently out of town and will be returning tomorrow afternoon," Julio stated as he turned in his chair. "Where exactly is he?" she asked him. "Brokers conference in Seattle," he answered. "We could pick him up at the airport when he returns, Commander," Provenza suggested. "We could but we don't have an arrest warrant for him, Lieutenant," Sharon replied.

"And since Chi Chi didn't implicate anyone else in this ring," Mike added. "We need to wait until we have the evidence needed to arrest them and hopefully, find who the leader of the robbery ring is," Andy stated as they all stood there by the Murder Board.

"We found four other items that were recovered, latent is going over them but it's taking a while for these prints to come back, a lot of it is art work, delicate art to be exact," Mike stated as he sat down at his desk. Sharon glanced at the clock in the office. It was closer to five o'clock than she realized. "Okay, everyone then we will just call it a day and pick up where we left off tomorrow," Sharon stated to the team and then headed towards her office.

Before they could all leave, Chief Mason walked into the Murder Room. He nodded at Provenza and Mike as he made his way towards Sharon's office. Andy was standing by Provenza's desk and watched Mason knock on Sharon's door before he entered.

"Here comes the pressure," Andy mumbled but Provenza heard him. Provenza leaned back in his chair as they both watched the interaction between Sharon and Mason.

"Commander, I know we had a meeting scheduled for this morning, and you didn't show up for it," Mason started to say to her as she looked up from her desk. "We had a break in the case this morning and arrested one of the suspects in this robbery ring of yours," Sharon quickly informed him. "Yes, I heard that. I figured if you couldn't come to me to update me on the case, that I would come to you," Mason informed her.

Sharon briefly updated Chief Mason in her office and informed him that since they arrested one of the suspects, they were pretty sure they would be able to get the rest of the individuals involved. Chief Mason was satisfied with that conclusion. "That's why I made you a Commander, keep me posted," Mason left her office and Sharon sat back in her chair.

Everyone left the office after Chief Mason left the room which left Andy waiting for Sharon to be done in her office. She walked out with her briefcase and purse in hand. "Everything okay with him?" Andy asked her. "Since we didn't have our meeting this morning, he wanted to know how the investigation was going," Sharon sighed as she placed her briefcase on Andy's desk.

Andy stood up and placed his hand on her lower back as they exited the office together. "I was thinking we could stop and get take-out on the way home from Matthew's school," Andy suggested to her as they walked down the hallway towards the elevators. "That's fine with me," she stated as they stepped inside and headed down to their car.

They picked up Matthew from school and then headed over to the little Greek restaurant they ordered from occasionally. Andy ordered a tilapia fish dinner, Sharon ordered a Greek salad with chicken, and they ordered Matthew chicken fingers that he liked from there. They arrived home and ate dinner. After dinner, Matthew went into the family room to watch TV while Sharon retreated into the den where she looked over some paperwork she had brought home with her.

Andy cleaned up the kitchen and placed the left overs in the fridge. He then went in search of Sharon and found her in the den, just like he thought, looking over some paperwork. He bent down and placed a kiss on top of her head. "I thought you said to call it a day and pick up tomorrow where we left off?" he asked her as he started to massage her shoulders. Sharon hummed in response and placed the file down on the desk. "I did, Chief Mason wants this solved quickly, but something is bothering me with this case," she added as she looked up at him.

"What's bothering you, sweetheart?" Andy asked her as he bent down and kissed her forehead. "I can't put my finger on it just yet, but something doesn't seem right with this group," Sharon confessed as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the massage Andy was giving her. "Why don't you head upstairs, take a nice relaxing bath, and forget about this case for a few minutes," Andy suggested to her. "I will but let me just look at this one thing, okay?" Sharon still sat in her chair.

Andy shook his head and knew he shouldn't handle Sharon, but she needed to clear her mind. He bent down and whispered into her ear. "Please don't be stubborn." She sighed as he closed the folder and then turned around in her chair and looked at him. She then stood up and ran her hand down the front of his shirt.

Andy smiled at her and pulled her in for a kiss. They stood there together for a couple of minutes just kissing one another until Sharon broke their embrace. "I'm going to go see what Matthew is doing, enjoy your bath!" Andy told her as he let go of her hand as she walked up the stairs. Andy headed into the family room and Sharon continued up the stairs.

Sharon walked down the hallway and passed Matthew's room. She glanced inside because the light was left on and saw the mess in his room. She shook her head and went back towards the stairs. "Matthew!" she called out hoping that she was heard by either Andy or Matthew himself.

Andy was sitting on the couch with Matthew as he watched Star Wars Rebels on TV. "I think mom is calling you," Andy told Matthew. Matthew sat up and moved off the couch to see what she wanted.

"What?" he called up the stairs and saw Sharon standing at the balcony. "I thought I told you to clean your room? There are clothes all over the floor and your toys are everywhere," she told him. "I will Mom!" Matthew informed her and started to walk away. She watched him walk back to the family room and she shook her head.

"What did she want?" Andy asked Matthew as he came back to the couch. "She asked me to clean my room and I told her I would," Matthew said as he sat down next to Andy. Sharon pulled out her phone as she made her way to their bathroom and texted Andy. Andy's phone alerted him to a text message and he pulled it out of his pocket and read the message.

'Make sure your son cleans his room' the text stated and Andy chuckled as he read it. "Alright, I think you've watched enough TV, you need to go clean your room," Andy told Matthew as he started to stand up from the couch. "I will but I wanted to watch that," Matthew whined as he pouted. "Come on, it will take you five minutes to clean your room," Andy tried reasoning with him. Matthew didn't move from the couch.

"Hey, your mom asked you nicely to clean your room earlier and now I'm asking you to do so," Andy told him as he stood there with his arms folded across his chest. Matthew didn't move and was trying Andy's patience at the moment.

"I'm not going to ask you again, now go clean up your room!" Andy stated and Matthew stormed off the couch and ran up the stairs. Andy then looked at Moxie and shook his head. He ran his hand down his face and took the dog outside.

Matthew ran up the stairs and into his bedroom. He saw the mess that he had left behind earlier when he changed out of his school uniform. He had gotten distracted with some toys that he was looking for and now everything was indeed a mess! He took his clothes off of the floor and threw them into the closet and closed the door. Then he picked up his toys and placed them in a basket in his room. 'There, everything was off the floor and they wouldn't know the difference,' he thought to himself and then made his way back downstairs.

Meanwhile, Sharon was enjoying her bath as she relaxed in it. The scent from the jasmine bubble bath filled her senses and allowed her to be able to relax and let the stress melt off of her. She soaked in the tub and closed her eyes.

Andy brought Moxie back inside the house and heard the TV was on again in the family room. He walked over there and saw Matthew was back on the couch watching TV. "Did you clean your room?" he asked him. "Yes," Matthew stated, still a little pouty as he sat there. "Okay, well, I think it's time for bed then," Andy glanced at his watch and turned the TV off one more time. "Fine," Matthew pouted again and ran up the stairs.

Andy followed him upstairs and went to see him in his bedroom. He looked around and saw his toys were picked up off of the floor. Matthew was sitting on his bed. Andy sat next to him. "Is something the matter?" he asked him as he pouted on the bed. "No," Matthew replied. "Are you sure, is something wrong at school?" Andy asked him. "No," Matthew replied again.

"Okay, then why have you been so pouty this evening?" Andy asked him. "It's just that I wanted to watch that TV show and you and Mom both know that and you both asked me to clean my room while that show was on," Matthew whined again. "Oh, I see," Andy said as he looked at Matthew. "Matthew, you do know that your mom and I want the best for you and want you to be responsible as well, right?" Andy informed him. "Yes," muttered Matthew.

"So when we ask you to do something, like clean your room, we understand that there are other things you'd like to do during that time. However, we are asking you do something, and we expect you to do it. You can complain all you want and call up your brothers and sisters and ask them if you are being treated unfairly, and I'm sure they will tell you, you have it very good," Andy explained to him as he sat there. Matthew took a deep breath. "Fine," he stated and then got up to get ready for bed.

Andy walked into their bathroom and saw Sharon still in the bathtub. He walked over to her with a smirk on his face and leaned in to kiss her lips. She smiled as they parted. "Did you get Matthew to clean his room?" she asked him as she shifted under the water. "Yes, but he wasn't happy about it," Andy told her as he got ready for bed. She started to move out of the water. "Take your time, Sharon," he said as he stood there getting undressed and then put his pajama pants on.

She sunk back down in the water; the warmness was starting to cool off a little. She thought back to last month when they came home from solving that food vendor case. How Andy had joined her in the tub that evening. She smiled at that thought and then opened her eyes to see Andy standing by the tub, just watching her. He held the bath towel for her as she stepped out and wrapped it around her body. "You're cold," he whispered to her. She looked at him and he enveloped her in a hug.

 _ **Present time**_

Andy glanced at his watch and had only been thirty minutes since she briefly opened her eyes and looked at him. Andy sat there holding her left hand in his. Her hand was cold but the nurse reassured him that it was normal and once she started to become fully awake, her body temperature will come back to normal. She currently had her eyes closed and had fallen back asleep.

A nurse came in to check on her and wrote down some information in her chart. "Your wife is doing really well. We should be moving her to a regular room soon on the 6th floor," she informed him and he nodded as she left the room. "Matthew's here, he's waiting outside doing his homework," he spoke quietly to Sharon as she lay there. "He thought you got shot because he didn't clean his room up like we asked him to," he let out a brief chuckle. He stared at her, hoping she would wake up again, even if it was for a brief second like last time.

A few minutes later, two orderlies came in with another nurse. "Lieutenant, we are going to move your wife to a regular room now. You're welcome to come with us, or you can meet us at her room, number 675," the nurse informed him. "Um, can you give me a second to inform the people waiting in the waiting room, I'd like to stay with her if I could," Andy asked the nurse and she nodded her head. "Sure, we'll be right here," she told him and he glanced at Sharon, squeezing her hand. "I'll be right back, sweetheart," he whispered to her and then left the room.

Andy took a deep breath as he stepped out of the recovery room. He then made his way to the waiting room where he left Provenza, Patrice, and Matthew there. As he turned the corner to step inside the room, he saw Rusty had joined them along with Nicole. "Dad," Nicole said as he stepped inside and walked over to him. She pulled him in for a hug. "Nicole," Andy muttered as he hugged his daughter.

He then moved to where Rusty was standing next to Provenza. He was surprised that Rusty gave him a hug as well. "I just came to tell you that they are moving her to a regular room now, it's room 675, up on the 6th floor," Andy said in a shaky voice as he broke away from Rusty.

"I'm going to go with her so if you could make sure your brother is okay and everyone else gets notified," Andy told Rusty and he nodded. "How did this happen?" Rusty asked him as he looked around the room. "I'll let you know later, okay?" Andy replied as he walked over to Provenza.

"I notified both Emily and Ricky. Emily said she is on the next flight to LA and Ricky is driving down tonight," Provenza told him. "Okay, um, we'll talk in a little bit," Andy's voice cracked as he ran his hand through his hair. "Go Flynn, we got it from here," Provenza said as he noticed Andy looking over at Matthew.

Andy walked over to him. "Matthew, you're going to stay with your brother and sister, while I go with mom to her room, okay?" he looked at the boy. "But I want to go see mommy with you," Matthew whined but Andy shook his head.

Nicole walked over to where the two of them were and took a seat next to Matthew. "Matthew, why don't you stay here with me, Rusty, and the rest of us while Dad goes with your mom," Nicole offered as she saw him becoming anxious. Matthew pouted and gave Andy his sad face as Andy looked at both of them. "Thank you," Andy whispered to Nicole and then stood up left the waiting room.

Andy took a deep breath before he rejoined Sharon and everyone else in the recovery room. "Okay, thank you for waiting," he told the nurse as the nurse placed her hand on his arm. They then left the room and headed towards the elevators. They did not pass the waiting room and Andy was thankful for that. Andy held onto Sharon's hand the whole time she was being moved and then they wheeled her into her room. He let go briefly as the orderlies and nurses moved her in the room and settled her in.

Andy looked around and stopped the nurse who was leaving the room. "Um, is this ICU or what?" Andy asked the nurse. "She's in a regular room, Lieutenant. She's doing better than most and the doctor felt like she could go right to a regular room instead of ICU," the nurse answered him. Andy nodded. "I know it's a lot to take in at first but she's going to be okay," the nurse smiled at him and then left her room.

Andy watched Sharon as she lay in the hospital bed. He then heard some noise coming from the hallway and peeked outside her room. He saw Provenza walking down the hallway with Matthew in tow from the elevators. He stepped outside her room and joined them.

"Hey, what's going on?" he asked them. "There's been a break in the case. They arrested Blake Harper and another guy at the apartment building where you two were. I'm meeting everyone downtown but I'll keep you posted," Provenza told him. "Patrice is heading home as well. She'll stop by tomorrow morning," he added.

Andy looked at Matthew and wondered why he had walked with Provenza. "Seems to me that Matthew here didn't want me to leave without telling you and he also insisted on seeing his mother," Provenza added as Andy gave a questionable look to him. "Matthew," Andy said to him and Matthew just looked at his dad. "I just want to see her, and then I'll go back and wait with everyone else," Matthew pleaded with him.

"Fine," Andy said as he placed his arm around Matthew. He nodded to Provenza and then walked with Matthew into Sharon's room. "Is she sleeping?" Matthew quietly asked Andy as he made his way inside the room. "Yes, she opened her eyes earlier but she's very tired," Andy explained to him. "She has a bandage on her arm and on her side, but she's going to be okay," he added as he held Matthew's hand.

Matthew walked over to Sharon's bedside and reached out to hold her hand. "I'm sorry Mom," Matthew whispered to her but Andy heard him. "When will she wake up?" he asked Andy as he stood there. "Hopefully soon buddy," he answered and then gestured for Matthew to follow him out of the room.

Andy walked Matthew back down to the area where everyone else was located. "Did you finish your homework?" he asked him as they walked. "Yes," muttered Matthew. "Good, I'm going to ask Nicole if you could stay with them tonight, that way she could take you to school tomorrow with Colin and Avery," Andy suggested to Matthew. "Okay," replied Matthew.

Andy saw Nicole sitting on a chair outside by the elevators. There were a couple of sofas and chairs there for people to sit on. "Hey Nicole, I need to ask you a favor?" Andy said as he sat down next to his daughter.

"I can watch Matthew for you while you're here with Sharon, Dad," Nicole smiled as she grabbed a hold of Andy's hand. "Thank you," Andy was relieved. "You guys are welcome to come see her, but she's still asleep," he added. "We'll come back when mom's awake," Rusty said which shocked Andy at first but then he nodded his head. "Okay," Andy said to them.

They each stood up and gave Andy a hug. "Take care of mom, Andy," Rusty told him. "I will," he said as he hugged him. "I'll stop by the house and pick up a few things for Matthew before I bring him over to my house," Nicole told him.

"And I'll take care of Moxie when I get home," Rusty said. "Oh, and Ricky is driving to the house tonight. He said he'd be getting in late," Rusty added as he grabbed Matthew's backpack. "Emily will call me when she lands," Nicole told her father.

"Take care of each other," Andy told them and ruffled Matthew's hair. "Listen to your sister, please," he informed Matthew and Matthew nodded. He watched their children walk onto the elevator and the doors closed. Andy then turned around and walked back towards Sharon's room. As he stepped inside, he noticed the she was still asleep. He sighed as he sat down on the chair next to her bed. He resumed his hold on her left hand and continued to watch her sleep.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

 **A/N:** Thanks everyone for the wonderful reviews so far! I'm glad everyone is enjoying this story.

Chapter 5

 _ **Present Time**_

Andy sat there on the chair next to Sharon's bed. A nurse was in earlier to check on her vitals and to make sure that her stitches were doing okay. He kept staring at Sharon, wondering when he would see her green eyes again.

It was a little after eleven at night when Sharon started to stir in her sleep. Andy moved forward on the chair and touched her hand lightly. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked into his deep, brown eyes. "Hi," she whispered, barely and tried to give him a smile. "Hey," he responded and moved a piece of hair out of her face.

She turned her head to get a better look at him. She was trying to take in his appearance. His hair looked like he had been running his hand through it. His top three buttons on his shirt were unbuttoned and he was missing his tie. "You look like hell," she mumbled to him and he chuckled a little before leaning in and kissing her on her forehead.

"Hmm, what happened?" she asked him as she tried to move but let out a groan instead. "Easy, try not to move so much, you had minor surgery to your left side," he said, hoping his voice would calm and soothe her as he grabbed her hand and held it in his again.

She hummed as he ran his thumb over her hand. "You were shot in your arm," he quietly told her and she nodded. "I remember that, and I remember climbing out a window with you," she was a little groggy still from the medication they gave her.

"Do you remember me helping you into our car?" Andy asked her as he didn't know what she remembered and what she didn't. "I remember you holding my hand, and then bright lights running over my head," she stated as her eyes looked at Andy.

"Why did I need surgery on my side?" her voice rasped. "A bullet fragmented when it went through your vest and embedded into your side. The doctor had to remove each one but there was one fragment that went a little deep and nicked the outer layer of your spleen," Andy explained to her in his soothing voice. Tears started to well up in her eyes. "How did that happen?" she asked him.

"Sweetie you just woke up, I don't want to," Andy started to tell her but she held up her right hand and he stopped talking. "Please, tell me," she pleaded with him and was determined to find out everything that happened. "You're so stubborn," Andy muttered under his breath. "But you love me anyway," she said as he thought she didn't hear him. Andy smiled at her and shook his head.

"The reason why the bullet penetrated your vest was because it was a cop killer bullet, Teflon coated," Andy started and then cleared his throat. "The bullet, for whatever reason, maybe divine intervention, fragmented instead as it went through the Kevlar, instead of going through your body intact," he continued and explained it to her.

"You were actually hit with two different bullets, the one in your arm was a 9 millimeter, consistent with the fact that we saw two different shooters when they ambushed us," Andy stated as he leaned closer to her. She looked at him as he continued to talk to her. She felt she was able to relax better hearing all of this from Andy than from a doctor.

"Are you okay?" she finally asked him after he spoke to her. He chuckled and smiled. "I'm much better knowing that you're still here with me," he whispered to her and he leaned in to kiss her on her lips. She ran her tongue over her lips as they felt dry to her before Andy finally kissed her.

When they broke apart, she saw the look of both relief and fear in Andy's eyes. "I'm okay," she reassured him and he nodded slightly, a little teary-eyed. "Now I know how you felt all those times I was lying there in a hospital bed while you waited to hear how I was," he sighed. She shook her head slightly and tugged on his hand that was holding her left hand.

They sat there and watched each other for a couple of minutes before it dawned on Sharon that she didn't even know if he got injured during the whole incident. She reached for where his tie would have been and caressed her hand down his buttons on his dress shirt. "Did you get injured or hit during all of this?" she winced as she felt a pain in her arm and quickly pulled her hand away from him.

Andy saw the pain flash in her eyes and took a deep breath. "Easy, Sharon," he whispered to her as he tried to help her pain subside. "Let me get the nurse in here and see if they can give you something for the pain," he told her as he started to stand up. She grabbed a hold of his hand and squeezed it. "Answer my question, Lieutenant," her voice rasped. "I wasn't hit or injured," he told her and she let go of his hand.

He walked out of her room and went down to the nurses' station. Rachael, the nurse from earlier, was sitting there going over a chart when Andy walked up. "Lieutenant, how can I help you?" she asked him as she looked up from the paper. "My wife's awake, but she's in some pain," he told her. "Alright, let's go take a look," Rachael stood up and followed Andy to Sharon's room.

They stepped inside her room and Rachael went to wash her hands at the sink. Andy returned to Sharon's left side. "Hi Sharon, I'm Rachael, I'm one of the nurses here," she said as she dried her hands and then placed a pair of exam gloves on them. "Hi," Sharon winced again. "Are you in pain?" Rachael asked her as she looked at the IV's.

"A little," Sharon let out a slow, deep breath. "On a scale here of one to ten, with ten being the worst pain you've ever felt, how would you rate it?" Rachael asked. "Six," Sharon winced. "Okay, let's see. Can you tell me where the pain is?" she turned around and examined Sharon. "My side feels like it's burning and a little twinge in my left arm," Sharon explained as she looked at Andy. Andy watched as the nurse examined her and wanted to do something for Sharon.

"The twinge is probably from the stitches they put in and the burning sensation, believe it or not, is normal," Rachael opened Sharon's gown and took a look at her side. "I'm just going to pull this bandage back and see if there's any oozing coming from your stitches there, okay?" she asked Sharon and Sharon nodded. She reached for Andy's hand and he held onto it.

Rachael then pulled back the bandage as carefully as she could and Andy was able to see her stitches at that point. "You're stitches look fine. They're not oozing which is a good thing," Rachael smiled as she opened a new gauze pad and placed it over the area. "I'm going to use some non-adhesive tape to help soothe the area so that it doesn't pull your skin as much," she explained as she taped the gauze pad.

Sharon kept her eyes on Andy's and watched his facial expressions as Rachael tended to her. Rachael finished up and pulled her gown over so that she wasn't exposed anymore. "I'm just going to get a reading on your vitals, Sharon, and then I'll let the Doctor know and we will administer another pain medication through your IV," she explained as she placed her stethoscope in her ears and then on Sharon's chest. Rachael took her blood pressure and wrote everything down in her chart. "I'll be right back," she told them and stepped out of Sharon's room.

Sharon turned her head to Andy who was still standing next to her holding her hand. "So, was it that bad?" she asked him as she closed her eyes and tried to get more comfortable in the bed. "Was what bad?" he asked as he moved the chair he was sitting in before closer to her bed. "My stitches. I saw your expression on your face when she removed the old gauze pad," she bluntly stated.

"No," he started and then cleared his throat before he continued. "When I saw the stitches, I realized, that things could have been a lot worse and I could have lost you," he quietly told her. That was the first time she heard his voice crack a little in a long time. She saw his eyes water a little as well. "Andy," she whispered and squeezed his hand a little.

The nurse interrupted what Sharon was going to say next as she entered the room again. She placed the new IV on the pole and hooked it up into Sharon's IV line that went into her hand. "Okay, so the Doctor said we can give you another dosage of morphine for your pain you are experiencing, and once I start it, the pain should start to subside," she informed them as she administered the new bag. She made sure that the drip was working properly and watched the medication flow into the tube.

Andy had taken that opportunity to quickly wipe away a tear from his eye, hoping Sharon didn't see that. Sharon was watching the nurse as she tended to her. "Okay, I'll check in on you in a little bit. Would you like some ice chips to chew?" she asked before leaving. "Yes, please," Sharon nodded and then the nurse walked out of the room. She came back a second later with a cup full of ice chips. "Here you go," she said as she placed it on the tray next to her bed and then left the room.

Andy took the cup and the spoon that the nurse had brought with and placed some ice chips on the spoon. He then placed the spoon to Sharon's mouth and she chewed them. "You know, I am capable of doing this myself," she told him and then realized the irony of that statement. "I seem to recall me telling you something similar but you insisted upon helping me," Andy chuckled. "Well, that's because you looked helpless when you came back from your surgery," she added and Andy looked into her eyes.

Andy shook his head. "Not helpless, just grateful that I was still alive to be with you," he whispered and she smiled at him. He brushed some hair strands out of her face. "It's late, why don't you get some sleep," he leaned in and kissed her forehead. Her eyes were closed. The medicine was kicking in again and she felt groggy one more time. "Stay with me," she whispered to him as sleep took over. "I'm not going anywhere," he told her as he watched her fall asleep. He sat back as he held her hand and found himself starting to relax.

 _ **34 hours earlier**_

Andy woke up to Sharon running circles on his bare chest with her finger. "Morning," he muttered as he opened his eyes. He saw Sharon staring down at him. "Morning," she smiled and leaned down to kiss him. Andy pulled her in and held her in his arms. "I can stay like this forever," she told him as she laid there.

Minutes later, their alarm started to go off and Andy groaned as that meant Sharon was going to start getting ready for work. "Couldn't we both call in sick and just stay here for the rest of the day?" he asked her as she started to move.

"As much as I would like to do that, we have a case that's not going to solve itself," she leaned in and kissed him. Andy groaned against her lips as she pulled away. "Fine," he pouted as she headed for the bathroom to get herself ready. He sat on the side of the bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes before he stood up and got himself ready for the work day.

They dropped Matthew off at school and headed into work. When they arrived, they were shocked to see everyone already there, sitting at their desks. "Morning Commander," Provenza said to her as they walked inside the office. "Lieutenant," she said as she glanced at her watch. "How long have you guys been here?" she asked as she made her way into her office. She didn't want Provenza to answer her as it was a rhetorical question at best. She placed her things down on her desk and proceeded to join them by the Murder Board.

"Okay, Commander here is what we have so far," Provenza said and then nodded to Julio who then started the morning briefing. "Daniel Jones is scheduled to arrive at LAX this afternoon, but we still don't have anything concrete on him, ma'am," Julio swiveled in his chair. "Except for his picture at the car dealership with Chi Chi," Buzz added as he placed the picture up on the Murder Board.

"Latent came back on several pieces of art work, Martin Lipinski's prints are all over them," Mike explained. "Let's bring him in then," Sharon said. "We can't," Mike quickly said. "Why not?" Sharon asked as she folded her arms in front of her chest. "We don't know exactly where he is, Commander," Provenza chimed in and Sharon sighed and looked at the Murder Board.

"Have patrol pick up Daniel Jones when he arrives at LAX and have them bring him down here to answer some questions we have and let's get a location on Mister Lipinski!," she informed Provenza and he nodded as he picked up his desk phone. Sharon turned around and walked back into her office and closed her door. Andy watched her and then sat down at his desk.

 _ **Present time**_

Andy's phone chirped alerting him to a text message. He sat up from his chair and looked over at Sharon who was sleeping. The pain medication the nurse gave her seemed to be working. He picked up his phone that was on the tray table and glanced at it. The text message was from Nicole. She had picked up Emily at the airport and drove her to their house. He saw the time on his phone and it was close to three in the morning. 'Thank you,' he replied back to Nicole.

There was another text from Ricky saying that he was at their house and wanted to know how his mom was doing. He looked at the timestamp of that message and it was about an hour ago. He quickly sent a text to Ricky telling him that his mom had woken up late last night and he spoke to her in length and that she was currently sleeping after the nurse gave her some pain medication. He then rubbed his hand on his face trying to wake himself up. He hadn't heard from Provenza about the arrest that was made earlier last night.

He texted him and asked what was going on with the case. He stared at his phone for a couple of minutes, hoping that Provenza would answer him and he finally did. 'You're not going to believe this but the Feds want to take this over' was the text Provenza had sent him. 'Why?' he replied and waited.

'Bigger robbery ring than we thought, spans several states' Provenza replied. The group that they had caught was transnational and that fell under the jurisdiction of the FBI. 'How is she?' Provenza sent another quick text. Andy took a deep breath before he responded to him.

'She woke up late last night and we spoke for almost an hour. Nurse gave her pain med and she's sleeping right now' he replied back to his best friend. 'Get some rest. I'll brief you and the Commander later this morning' was the last text Andy received from Provenza. He glanced at Sharon who was still sleeping and leaned forward on his chair to take a hold of her hand.

 _ **24 hours earlier**_

Daniel Jones did show up with patrol officers and after a while, the team wasn't further along as they would have hoped. Andy knocked on Sharon's office door and she told him to come in. It was a little after 3 o'clock in the afternoon.

"What do you want us to do with Daniel?" he asked her as he stood in front of her desk and leaned his hands on the back of the chair. Sharon looked out into the Murder Room. "Any news on where this Lipinski person could be?" she asked him but he shook his head. They couldn't charge Daniel with grand theft auto like they had charge Chi Chi because they didn't find his prints anywhere in the car.

"Do you want us to let him go?" he asked her and she sighed. "We're going to have to, unless," she thought for a minute. Andy stood up and waited for her to finish her thought. "Ask Lieutenant Provenza to join us in here," she asked him and he nodded. He opened her office door and stuck his head out. "Provenza!" he called his partner and Provenza looked up from his desk. "What?" he shrugged his shoulders and Andy motioned for him to come into Sharon's office.

Provenza walked inside and joined them in Sharon's office as Andy closed the door. "Can we hold Daniel on anything concrete?" she asked him as he sat down. "Suspicion might buy us 24 hours at best, he might get a little hostile and if we're lucky, we could throw in an obstruction charge or assaulting an officer," Provenza answered and Sharon slightly shook her head. "Go ahead and do it," she informed them and they left her office.

Holding Daniel Jones would mean that they would just need to concentrate on Martin Lipinski and Blake Harper. Now they just needed to find these two and maybe that would lead them to the leader of this robbery ring they were slowly uncovering.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

 **A/N:** Thanks again for the reviews! I'm not sure what's going to happen to Sharon in tonight's episode but I wanted to get this chapter published before it aired. I wrote this particular chapter when the World Series was on, there's a small reference to it. Enjoy!

Chapter 6

 _ **20 hours earlier**_

Matthew was sitting at the kitchen table doing his homework. It was a little after 7 at night and Andy was sitting there with him. Sharon was in the den going over a report for their latest case. Something kept bothering her during this investigation. She believed that if they found Blake Harper or Martin Lipinski, it would lead them to the ring leader and her team would bring down this robbery ring that seemed to steal high-end items.

She was reading the financial report they had on Blake Harper when Matthew walked into the den. "What are you doing?" he said as he looked over Sharon's shoulder at the paper she was reading. "Just going over some things for work. Did you finish your homework?" she asked as she looked at him. "Yes, Dad's checking it right now," he said as he walked around the desk and picked up the baseball that was on a stand on one of the bookshelves.

"When do the Dodgers play again?" he asked Sharon as he flipped the baseball in the air. "Friday, Game 3 of the World Series," Sharon said as she continued to read Blake's financial report. Matthew placed the baseball back on the stand and turned around to face Sharon. "Matthew?" Andy called from the kitchen. Matthew heard his name and ran back into the kitchen leaving a smile on Sharon's face.

"Here, you might want to look this problem over. Read it and try again," Andy told him as he sat at the table. Matthew looked it over again and worked out the problem on the piece of paper. He finished it and handed it back to Andy who checked it over again. "Good, anything else you have to do tonight?" Andy asked him as he handed the math paper back to Matthew. Matthew put the paper in his folder and then placed the folder in his backpack. "No," he replied.

"Can I go watch TV now?" he asked Andy as he started to walk out of the kitchen. "Um, can you do me a favor first?" Andy asked him as he stood up from his chair and walked over to join him in the hallway. "What?" grumbled Matthew. "I need you to go clean your room, and make sure you actually put your clothes away, not throw them in your closet and shut the door," Andy walked with Matthew towards the stairs.

"How'd you know I did that?" Matthew asked as he paused at the bottom of the stairs. "Because I'm the Dad and plus, I went into your room this morning with your clean clothes and saw your closet floor," Andy smiled at him as Matthew hung his head. Matthew then ran up the stairs and went into his room to clean it up. Andy chuckled as he turned around and walked into the den to see what Sharon was up to in there.

Andy walked into the den and Sharon was intently looking at another report from the case. Andy stood behind her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders and began giving her a massage. Sharon sighed as she could feel the tenseness in her muscles. She leaned her head back and Andy moved closer and placed kisses up and down her neck. "I love you," she whispered to him.

 _ **Present time**_

Andy woke up to a beeping alarm going off from Sharon's monitor. "Sharon?!" he yelled as he sat up and looked to see why there was an alarm. Two nurses rushed into her room to see what was happening as well. One of the nurses looked at the monitor while the other one attended to Sharon.

"Her blood pressure is dropping!" the nurse called out. Andy stood there, shaking, feeling helpless as he watched. "Why is her blood pressure dropping? What's going on?" he asked questions that he didn't get answers to. "Lieutenant please, let us work on her," another nurse came in with a doctor and moved Andy over to the side of the room as the doctor and the other nurses worked on Sharon.

"She was fine a couple of hours ago," Andy mumbled to the nurse who stood with him as he watched Sharon lying on the hospital bed. The doctor called out some orders for the nurses as he worked on Sharon. They administered a shot of epinephrine into her iv line. "She's stable!" he heard a nurse yell out as she checked her blood pressure again. "I'd like a complete CBC. Let's find out why this occurred!" the doctor ordered and then turned around and walked over to Andy.

"Lieutenant, let's talk out here," the doctor said as he pointed to the hallway. Andy looked at Sharon and then walked out of her room. He started to pace out in the hallway but the doctor placed his hand on Andy's arm.

"Lieutenant, my name is Doctor Fishman, I'm one of the doctors that looked over your wife when she was brought in," the doctor told him. "What caused this to happen to her?" Andy asked him as he looked with concern.

"She could be bleeding internally, that's why I'm running her blood count again because I want to see where her numbers are," the doctor explained to Andy. Andy ran his hand through his hair and the slumped down in the chair outside of Sharon's room.

The doctor sat down next to him. "We administered a shot of epinephrine, which stabilized her heart. Normally, adrenalin and acetylcholine are balanced by your body, but sometimes it becomes imbalanced and causes your blood pressure to drop to a lower state, as what was happening with your wife," he explained as Andy listened to him.

"What, what's the next step?" he asked the doctor. "We're going to look at her blood work and see where her numbers are, depending on the results, we can determine what's happening," the doctor stated.

"How long will that take?" Andy asked him as his head was against the wall. "Not long, we'll send it to the lab and the results should come back within fifteen minutes," the doctor answered him. One of the nurses stepped out of Sharon's room.

"She's doing much better now. She's awake and asking for you," she said to Andy. "I'll be back when I have the results," the doctor informed Andy and they both stood up from the chairs. "Thanks doc," Andy said and then walked back into Sharon's room.

Andy took a deep breath as he saw Sharon was looking back at him from her bed. "Hey," he whispered to her as he joined her at the side of her bed. "I heard I gave everyone a scare," her voice rasped and gave him a slight smile.

"You did sweetheart," he nodded as he gently caressed her face with his hand. "I love you," he told her as tears formed in his eyes. She reached out for his left hand and held onto him. "I love you too," she looked in his eyes and saw a tear slide down his face.

Twenty minutes later, Sharon was still holding on to Andy's hand and they heard a knock at the door. "Okay, Mrs. Flynn, I have the results of your blood work," the doctor said as he looked at the report.

"I'm ordering a CT scan because I want to see if there's any internal bleeding in the area of your spleen or other organs around your abdomen, just as a precaution. We are also going to give you some platelets and see if that helps with your numbers. Your platelet count was lower than normal, which is why I want to see if there's any internal bleeding," the doctor explained to both of them.

Andy looked at Sharon as she looked at him after hearing what the doctor was explaining to them. "What causes the low platelet count?" Andy asked the doctor as he looked over at him. "Mrs. Flynn, have you taken any drugs like Tylenol or Advil recently for any reason?" the doctor asked her.

"No," Sharon responded. The doctor nodded. "I'm thinking that the recent trauma to your spleen caused by the shrapnel of the bullet is the underlying cause of this," the doctor answered Andy's question.

"The CT scan will tell us more. Your blood pressure dropped due to the imbalance of adrenaline and acetylcholine, like I explained to your husband earlier. That drop could be caused by a bleed somewhere," the doctor explained to Sharon and then two technicians walked in to take Sharon for the CT scan.

"These women are going to take you for your test now. Don't worry, we'll get to the bottom of this," the doctor reassured both Sharon and Andy as Andy watched them prep Sharon. "Hi Sharon, my name is Liz and this is Stephanie. We are going to be taking you for your CT scan," Liz told them.

Andy held onto Sharon's hand and gave it a little squeeze. She looked at him and he smiled. "Everything's going to be fine, sweetheart," he told her and she nodded. "Okay Sharon, we are going to take you for your CT scan. This will last maybe at the most thirty minutes. Do you have any jewelry on?" Liz asked her.

"Yes, my wedding ring," Sharon let go of Andy's hand and pulled her rings from her finger. She then handed them to Andy. Andy took them from her and held them in his hand. "I'll wait for you," he told her and then he watched them wheel Sharon out of the room.

He sat back down in the chair and held her rings in between his thumb and finger. He then placed them both on his left pinky finger for safe keeping until he could place them back on her left ring finger where they belonged. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He then began to pray.

 _ **16 hours earlier**_

Andy laid in bed and held Sharon close to him. They had just tucked Matthew in after Andy looked at his room. Matthew did a better job at cleaning his room this time around than last. He heard Sharon sigh into his chest and he smiled.

"Why is your son been acting up a lot lately?" she said as she looked up at him from where she was laying on his chest. "Oh, so when he's good, he's yours but the minute he starts acting up, he's mine?" Andy chuckled and pulled her in for a kiss. "I wonder if something's going on at school?" she said as she broke their kiss.

"I asked him that before, he told me that everything at school was fine. He likes his teachers and the subjects, so far, seem to be easy for him," Andy told her as he initiated another long, sensual kiss with Sharon. His hands were all over her body, gently caressing her.

She broke their kiss again when she needed oxygen. "What's gotten into you?" she panted as she looked at him. "I've missed you," he confessed. "I've been right here," she said as she kissed him again with more determination. They moved together on their bed, sheets tangled between them.

Hours later, their alarm went off as dawn was just starting to break through the clouds. Andy shifted in bed as he was spooned up against Sharon. He lifted his head and rubbed his eye with his free hand as he leaned over Sharon to turn the alarm off. Sharon woke up to see Andy leaning over her.

"Good morning handsome," she smiled at him. "Morning beautiful," he leaned down and kissed her lips. Sharon moaned into his mouth as he kissed her. He then propped himself up on his elbows and looked at her laying there next to him.

"Couldn't we call in sick today? I mean I know we are in the middle of a case but, I just want to stay here with you in bed together," he whispered to her. "Hmmm, I don't think Chief Mason would approve of that, both his Commander and a Lieutenant playing hooky while trying to solve this case? Plus you said the same thing yesterday morning and it didn't work then," she raised her eyebrows as she said that.

She started to get up after she said that and Andy groaned. "You're killing me, do you know that?" he asked her as he watched her walk away from him completely naked. "I know," she said and then closed the door to their bathroom behind her.

Andy laid on his back and stared at the ceiling, trying to calm himself down. The truth of the matter was no, they couldn't just take the day off today, because today, they needed to find Blake Harper and Martin Lipinski. Andy knew that as he still laid there, willing himself to get up and get ready for work. He did just that as he walked into their closet to pick out his suit for the day. He heard Sharon in the shower and knew that it would be tempting to join her, but they needed to get to work on time this morning.

Andy picked out Sharon's favorite tie, the multi-colored pastel striped tie that she always liked tugging and playing with whenever he wore it. He heard the shower turn off and knew that Sharon would be coming out to get dressed. He waited for her at the door and when she opened it, wearing a towel around her, he leaned in and kissed her. He gave her a wink and a smile and then headed into the bathroom while she went to their closet and picked out a pant suit to wear. She decided to go with a pink blouse to match Andy's tie.

 _ **Present time**_

Andy waited for Sharon to return to her room after the CT scan. He heard some movement coming from the hallway and stood up from his chair. He then saw them wheel Sharon back into the room. "The doctor is reading the scan now and he'll be in shortly," one of the nurses said to Andy.

Andy was focused on Sharon. He was surprised she was still awake. "Hey," he whispered to her and pulled a piece of hair out of her eyes. Sharon focused on watching him as he leaned over her bed and tended to her. "Hey," she responded. He started to take off her rings to give back to her but she stopped him. "I heard him mention I might need surgery again, so just keep those with you," she whispered to him.

His heart dropped again after hearing those words come from Sharon. He shook his head and closed his eyes briefly. "You're going to be okay," he reassured her as they waited for the doctor to return with the results. Sharon looked at him as he sat by her side.

"I'm worried about you," she told him as he held her hand. He looked up at her. "Me?" he questioned and she nodded. "You're the one who got shot," he tried to lighten the mood.

"Andy I'm worried about your health through all of this," she gestured at the room with her right hand. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine. You just concentrate on getting better," he told her as he leaned in and gave her a kiss. He brushed her hair out of her eyes and looked at her face. She looked fragile and pale again to him.

The doctor then walked back into Sharon's room. "Okay, I have the results from your CT scan," he said as he placed the film up on the light board so that he could show them the results of Sharon's scan.

"Your spleen is enlarged, slightly, which could be the reason why your platelets are on the low range," he informed them both as he pointed to the film on the board. "What caused her spleen to be enlarged, doc?" Andy asked him.

"Well, my guess is the trauma you sustained yesterday," the doctor answered him. "When we ran your blood test, we also tested for Leukemia. Your white blood cell numbers are good so that's why we can rule that out," he explained further.

Sharon took a deep breath at the mention of cancer as she glanced at Andy sitting next to her. Andy's sister had cancer. "Are you completely sure about that?" he asked the doctor.

"Yes, Sharon's numbers of her white blood cell count is normal. In a person that has Leukemia, their white blood cell count is very low," the doctor explained to Andy and then he turned to Sharon.

"Have you had any flu-like symptoms of the past couple of months, like fatigue, fever, chills, bone pain, anything like that?" the doctor asked Sharon. "No," Sharon shook her head as she listened to the doctor. "Any pain or discomfort when you eat?" he asked her and she replied "No".

"Yes, so my guess is that the trauma from the gun shot caused your spleen to become enlarged, which in turn, caused your platelet count to be low. We are going to monitor it for right now. I'm going to give you a bag of platelets to see if that gets your numbers back up into the normal range," he explained. "I also want to do a bone marrow test, and collect a tissue sample, just to rule out a few other things," he added and Sharon agreed.

"What if that doesn't work?" Sharon asked him. "Then we will discuss removal of your spleen," he said. "But, one step at a time first, okay?" he added. "Okay, doctor," Andy said as he glanced at Sharon.

The nurse came into her room with a needle while the doctor prepared the area of Sharon's pelvis to get the bone marrow sample from. "Okay Sharon, I'm going to insert the needle here. It's a local anesthetic so you'll feel a little numbing sensation, okay?" the doctor explained and Sharon nodded. She held onto Andy's hand and squeezed it when the needle was inserted.

"You're doing great sweetie," Andy whispered to her as he watched the doctor take a sample of her bone marrow. The doctor then handed the needle to the nurse and she capped it and left the room. "Okay Sharon, you did great. We're going to get you your platelets now and I should have the results of the bone marrow test by mid-morning," the doctor said and then left her room.

Andy watched as the doctor left Sharon's room. He then turned his attention to Sharon. "Hey," he said as he squeezed her hand. "We're going to get through this, okay?" Andy smiled and she nodded her head. He could see tears welling up in her eyes. "One step at a time, alright? We're not going to jump to any conclusions until we know," he told her as he tried to soothe her.

"But what if?" she started to say but Andy interrupted her. "Shhh, one step at a time," he repeated to her. "Now you need to get some sleep because it's 4:30 in the morning," he whispered to her and she gave him a slight smile. She closed her eyes as she held onto his hand still.

Andy sat back in his chair and ran his free hand over his face. He just hoped all of the tests that the doctor wanted to run would come back normal as he watched Sharon sleep. He then looked at the bag of platelets hanging from her IV pole and prayed that this would work out and that Sharon would get better.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

Chapter 7

 _ **6 hours earlier**_

It was 9 o'clock in the morning and everyone was sitting at their desks. Sharon walked out of her office and joined everyone at the Murder Board. "Okay, so do we know where Blake Harper or Martin Lipinski are today?" Sharon asked her team as she turned around to face them. "No, we don't Commander, but I think we should do a knock and talk at their last known addresses and see if maybe that's where they are," Provenza said as he leaned back in his chair.

"Do we have any more information regarding the rest of the stolen property?" Sharon asked them. "Yes and no," Mike stated as he sat at his desk. "According to the system, there's still some artwork missing, but a majority of the stolen property has been recovered and is being stored at the LAPD warehouse. Unfortunately, it has not been processed yet," Mike explained and Sharon shook her head. They would get somewhere with this case and then it would come to a halt. She couldn't understand that and now she knew why Chief Mason gave this case to her and her team.

"Do we have a last known address of our two guys?" Sharon asked. "Yes, Blake Harper has two last known addresses according to the report I ran on him," Andy stated as he grabbed the report off of his desk. Provenza hung up his phone. "Uh, Commander, that was the sergeant down at Holding, Daniel Jones was just released," Provneza informed her. "What? How could that happen?" she asked. "Apparently Daniel's lawyer got the suspicion charge dropped," Provenza answered as he threw his hands up over his head and leaned back in his chair.

 _ **Present time**_

Sharon stirred awake and opened her eyes. She was having a wonderful dream about her and Andy on the beach and hated to wake up from that. When she opened her eyes, she remembered she was lying in a hospital bed and all the memories came flooding back. She turned her head and saw Andy sleeping on the chair next to her bed. He was going to have a stiff neck when he woke up. He was still holding her left hand in his and she gently started caressing it.

He opened his eyes and saw her looking back at him. "Morning," he said to her and she smiled. "Morning," she said. "You're going to get a stiff neck," she added as she tried to adjust herself on the bed. "Here, let me help you," Andy told her as he stood up and helped her move her pillows. He adjusted the head of the bed, raising it up just a little for her. He then stretched his arms over his head and ran a hand down his face to wake himself up.

He walked over to the window which faced east and saw the sun starting to rise over the mountains in the distance. He saw the 110 freeway and the Union Bank building downtown. He then turned around and walked back over to Sharon.

"I need to use the bathroom," she told him. "Okay, let me call the nurse for you," he said as he lowered the rail on her bed. He then pressed the nurse's button and a nurse came to her room. "I need to use the bathroom," Sharon told the nurse and she gladly helped her stand up and then walked with her to the bathroom inside her room. The nurse went inside the room with Sharon to make sure she was okay.

Andy waited by her bed until he saw Sharon come out. The nurse then walked with her back to the bed and Sharon sat down. "I think I just want to sit here for a couple of minutes," Sharon huffed. "That's fine, honey. Let me just get your IV pole back over here and plug it back in," the nurse said and once she did that she left the room. Sharon sat on the edge of the bed. "You look sexy in that hospital gown," Andy murmured to her and she laughed. It was nice to hear her laugh again.

Andy moved and she watched him as he sat back down on the chair that was pulled up close to her bed. "Rusty, Emily, and Ricky are going to be stopping by this morning," he told her as she sat there. "I've asked them to bring a change of clothes for me and also some things for you," he added and then saw that she was trying to scoot herself back in the bed. Sharon let out a slight groan as she got in bed but she was happy that her kids were in town.

"Who called them?" she asked him as he stood over her. "Provenza did, well I told him to just notify them what happened but they both insisted on coming in and seeing you," he explained to her.

Just then, there was a knock on her door and an orderly entered her room carrying a hospital tray with her breakfast. "Here you go," they said as they placed the tray down on the side tray of her bed. "Thank you," Sharon said and the person left the room.

"Well, that's a good sign if they're giving you food," he told her as he removed the cover on the tray. Sharon looked over what was sitting in front of her. There was scrambled egg whites, a piece of toast, and some fresh fruit.

"Which means that I can place these back on your finger, my lady," Andy smiled at her as he held her left hand and slipped her wedding ring back on her ring finger. She smiled at him when he did that and then turned her attention to the food sitting in front of her. "I am a little hungry," she said as she started to eat.

One of the nurses stepped in her room and saw that she was eating her food. "Oh good, glad to see you are eating this morning," the nurse said to her. "My name is Marie and I'll be one of your nurses for this morning and afternoon," she added as she washed her hands.

"Do you know if Doctor Fishman has the results of the bone marrow test he took this morning?" Andy asked her as she wrote down Sharon's vitals. "I could ask him, he should be making his morning rounds right now," Marie said to him as she walked over to Sharon's side.

"I'm going to need to look at your incision and see how that's healing but I will come back when you're done eating to do that," she said and Sharon nodded. "After the doctor sees you, we are going to get you up and walking around," she added and then left her room.

Minutes later, Patrice walked into her room. Sharon was still eating her food and Andy was again sitting in the chair next to her bed. "Patrice," Sharon greeted her as she walked in.

"Good morning Sharon, Andy," Patrice said as Andy stood up. "It's good to see you eating already," she added as she placed her things down on the empty chair in the corner of the room. "So, how was your night?" she asked them as she turned around and walked back to Sharon's bed.

"Rough," Andy muttered as he glanced at Patrice. Patrice gave a worried look at both of them. "What happened?" she asked them.

"My blood pressure dropped in the middle of the night and alarms were going off," Sharon started to say but then Andy took over. "They gave her a shot of epinephrine and that helped stabilize her. The doctor ran some blood tests and her platelet count was low. They took her for a CT scan which showed her spleen to be enlarged. The doctor said he thinks it is due to the trauma of the gun shot and shrapnel that was removed, but he wanted to rule out any other bleeding," Andy explained to Patrice.

"He also did a bone marrow test, which we are still waiting for the results," Sharon said as she cleared her throat. "That makes sense, they just want to rule out what else could be the cause of your spleen to be enlarged, that's all," Patrice said as she saw the concerned look on Sharon's face.

She then turned to Andy who was still wearing the same clothes she saw him in last night. "If you want, Andy, I can stay here with Sharon while you go home and change," Patrice offered. "The kids are coming here soon and bringing a change of clothes for me with them and some things for Sharon, but thank you," Andy said.

Sharon looked at Patrice and then over at Andy. "Andy, why don't you go down to the cafeteria and get yourself something to eat," Sharon suggested to him. "I don't want to miss the doctor when he comes," Andy shook his head. Sharon then looked at Patrice and she caught her eye.

"Andy, the doctor is not going to be stopping anytime soon, believe me I know, so why don't you go and get yourself something to eat. You need to keep your health in mind too," Patrice suggested. Andy huffed. "Is this you two gaining up on me now?" Andy asked them. "Just looking out for you as well," Patrice answered.

Andy sighed and reluctantly started to leave Sharon's room. "I won't be long, please finish eating," he said to Sharon and then nodded to Patrice and left the room. He started to walk down the hallway and headed towards the elevator.

He stepped in the empty elevator and pressed the button for the 2nd floor where the cafeteria was located. He leaned against the side of the elevator as it started to move down to the 2nd floor and then stepped out and headed to the cafeteria. He knew he had to get something to eat but he really wasn't hungry, he was too worried about Sharon.

Meanwhile in Sharon's room, Patrice was sitting with her and they were talking. "I'm worried about him," Sharon said to her as she finished her food. "How so?" Patrice wondered as she sat there.

"The doctor mentioned Leukemia, and I know he was ruling that out with the initial results from the blood test but I can't help but think what if I have some sort of disease that is causing this, and they only noticed it now because I was shot?" Sharon confided. "Sharon," Patrice said, almost in a whisper. Sharon looked at her. "I don't know how he would take it," Sharon's voice cracked.

"What did you say when he was in the hospital with his blood clot? You have faith that this will all work out?" Patrice reminded her and Sharon smiled. "Yeah, what was I thinking back then?" Sharon scoffed and shook her head and started to laugh a little. Patrice smiled and held her free hand. "You have to have faith again, Sharon," Patrice said as she squeezed her hand.

Back in the cafeteria, Andy was getting some decaf coffee. He filled his cup and then went to grab a bagel from the container. He then made his way to the cashier where he paid for his items. "It's no charge," the cashier told him. Andy was surprised by this. "Law enforcement, right?" the cashier asked him and he nodded. He wondered how they knew but then realized he had his badge clipped to his belt still. "Thank you," he told them and started to walk back to the elevator.

As he was waiting for the elevator, a priest came and waited with him. "Heading up Father?" Andy asked him as they both stepped into the elevator. The priest chuckled. "Well, eventually I hope so but yes, 4th floor please," the priest said as he stood in the elevator.

"Someone close to you here?" the priest asked Andy as the elevator took them up to the next floors. "My wife," Andy nodded. "I'll say a prayer for her and you," the priest said and then he stepped out on the 4th floor. Andy nodded and then the elevator took him to the 6th floor where Sharon's room was located.

 _ **One hour earlier**_

Sharon and Andy arrived at the last known address of Blake Harper. They pulled up in front of an apartment building and Andy parked the car. They had just come from the other address that was listed in Harper's report but that address proved to be abandoned. Provenza and Julio had gone out when they had left to see if they could find Martin Lipinski. Sharon had told them to be careful when they had left the parking garage together.

Provenza had called them before they arrived at their current destination and told them that they had spoken to Martin at his residence but he wasn't very forthcoming with his answers. Provenza wanted to know if they should arrest him right there and figure things out later. Sharon gave them the go ahead to bring him in for questioning and they did just that. Now, her and Andy needed to speak with Blake and see if they could tie him into the robbery ring.

Sharon looked at the building and then glanced over at Andy who was still sitting in the driver's seat. They had both put their vests on before they went to the last address just as a precaution with everything going on in the world. "What?" Andy said as she looked at him. "Nothing," she said and then glanced at her watch. It was now 2 o'clock in the afternoon. "There's got to be something here, some kind of evidence we can use on this robbery ring, otherwise I don't know if we'll solve this," she said to him.

He glanced at her with a worried look. "Of course we're going to solve this case, Sharon. You are the best at what you do and you have a great team backing you up," Andy told her. "Did Mason say something to you?" he wondered as she did have that meeting with him yesterday after dealing with Jack. Sharon sighed.

"He wants it solved and said that he didn't make me a Commander to not be able to solve this robbery ring," she told him. Andy shook his head. "But, he's still adjusting to being Assistant Chief, so I let that comment go at that time," Sharon said as she could read Andy's mind.

Andy sat there and thought about the case. "Maybe there's other players in on this, besides the one's we know," he suggested to her. "Like who?" she asked as she stepped out of the car and he followed. "I don't know, maybe other people not in LA?" Andy shrugged his shoulders and they walked inside the apartment building. They took the elevator up to the floor where Blake Harper's apartment was supposed to be on and walked down the hallway to his door.

Andy nodded at Sharon before he knocked on the door. He then leaned into the door to see if he could hear any movement coming from the other side. "Someone's coming," he whispered to her and they heard the door unlock. The door opened slightly. "Blake Harper?" Andy asked the man at the door. "Yes, who wants to know?" he said. "LAPD. We'd like to ask you a couple of questions," Andy informed him. "Hang on a second," the man said and closed the door behind him.

Andy glanced at Sharon and she shook her head. Blake Harper was taking an awful long time to come back to the door but then Andy heard multiple footsteps approaching the door again. The door swung open and Andy recognized a gun as Blake brought it up. "Gun!" Andy yelled. There was another guy in the apartment who also had a gun and Andy drew his weapon while Sharon did the same. Shots were fired inside and outside the apartment.

Andy was able to get Sharon towards the exit door and into the stairwell. "Come on!" he yelled at her as he grabbed her and started going up the stairs towards the roof. He heard the door open to the stairwell and shots were fired again towards them. Sharon fired her weapon at the person as they made their way up. They came to another floor and Andy opened the door and started heading down to an open room. "Here, stay here," he told Sharon as he stood by the door to the stairwell, listening for someone coming after them.

Andy opened the door slightly and that's when gunshots were fired at him again. He quickly closed the door and headed to where he left Sharon. They went further into the room and Andy closed the door and barricaded themselves inside. Andy was trying to catch his breath when he looked over at Sharon. She was slumped over slightly against the wall and a desk. "Sharon!" he cried out as he ran over to her.

She was hit in the left arm and was bleeding from it. "I've been shot," she told him as she tried to stop the bleeding herself. "Yeah, I see," Andy said as he looked around for anything to apply pressure to the wound. He then took his tie off and tied it around her arm as tight as he could. That seemed to have stopped the bleeding for now. "Are you hit anywhere else?" he asked her and she shook her head no. "I don't think so," she said as she winced in pain from moving her left arm.

 _ **Present time**_

Andy walked down the hallway back to Sharon's room and as he entered, he saw Marie, the nurse, in the room and she was examining Sharon's incisions on her side and her arm. Patrice was still there and stood out of the way for the nurse to examine Sharon. "Everything is looking good, Sharon," she said as she dressed them both with new gauze and tape. Andy smiled as he saw Sharon being attended to. Sharon smiled back at him and he placed his coffee down on one of the side trays in her room. "The doctor should be here soon," Marie told them and she left the room.

"So did you get something to eat?" Sharon asked him as he held up his bagel and coffee. "The kids texted my phone and said they would be coming here around 9 this morning," Sharon said and pointed to her phone on the table.

"Louie wanted me to tell you that he's still at the office, the FBI is taking over, and he'll be stopping by later this morning with Sergeant Elliot from FID," Patrice told him. "Oh yeah, I forgot about Elliot," Andy mumbled as he ate his bagel.

"He was here last night while you were still in surgery and took custody of both our weapons. I also gave him your vest for their investigation and he said that he would come back for both of our statements," Andy said.

"Oh, well that's nothing big," Sharon stated, knowing that Andy always hated it when FID showed up anywhere. She couldn't blame him. All the run ins she had with him while she was still in charge of FID, she smiled at the memories.

Just then, Doctor Fishman walked into Sharon's room and greeted everyone there. "Well, how are we doing this morning? Hopefully better than earlier?" he said as he washed his hands and then dried them with a paper towel. "I feel better," Sharon told him.

"Good, always good to hear that," he said as he listened to her heart and lungs. "Take a deep breath for me," he told her and she did and winced a little. "Did you have any pain?" he asked her. "Yes," she answered. "From where the incision is or deeper like under your rib cage?" he asked her.

"I'm not sure, both maybe?" Sharon answered him and he nodded. "Well that is possible," he said as he walked around to the other side of the bed. "Your platelets are done, which is good. We'll get another blood sample in about an hour and run that to see where we stand," he explained to her.

"How about the results of the bone marrow you took earlier this morning?" Andy asked him as he stood next to Sharon. "I'm still waiting on that to come back," he said as he looked at his watch. "Doctor Fishman, dial 2807, Doctor Fishman 2807", they heard over the overhead speaker. "I'll be right back," as he excused himself and left her room. Five minutes later, Doctor Fishman returned with Sharon's bone marrow test results in his hand.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

Chapter 8

Andy held Sharon's hand as the doctor came back into her room with the test results from her bone marrow taken earlier that morning. "I'm going to step out and let you talk to the doctor," Patrice said to them but Sharon stopped her. "No, Patrice, please stay. I want you to hear this too," Sharon told her and she stood behind Andy.

"Okay, your bone marrow showed a low platelet count just like your CBC did. Your red and white blood cells show no abnormalities, which is a very good sign," Doctor Fishman stated as he looked at Sharon and Andy. "Since we gave you a transfusion of platelets after we ran these tests, I'm hoping that your next blood test will show better numbers for your platelets," he added as Andy and Sharon listened to him.

"We can rule out Leukemia and Lymphoma as the cause of your low platelets," he said and Andy let out his breath and squeezed Sharon's hand. She looked at him with relief in her eyes and a weight was lifted almost instantly. "That's great news doc," Andy said. "I'm going to go with my first theory and say that the trauma to your spleen caused the enlargement of it. Your low platelets should be due to a mild form of thrombocytopenia," Doctor Fishman informed them.

"What does that mean?" Sharon asked him. "It's just a fancier term for low platelet count," he answered her. "There's other causes of thrombocytopenia, your immune system could cause that, but you don't have an infection as your white blood cells are at the normal range. And you don't have an autoimmune disease like rheumatoid arthritis or lupus," he added. Andy looked worried at the mentioning of those.

"Don't worry, like I said earlier, one step at a time. We got the results of this and now we'll see if your body responds to the extra platelets we gave you and then we'll go from there, okay?" Doctor Fishman reassured both of them. "Thanks doctor," Sharon said and he left the room. Sharon then took a deep breath as she processed everything in her head.

"Well, that's good news," Patrice said as she tried to be optimistic for the both of them. Andy looked at Sharon and agreed. "It is good news, sweetheart," he told her as he still held onto her hand. "So, do you think my low platelet count is caused by my spleen being enlarged?" Sharon asked Patrice. "Well, everything the doctor said seems to be pointing that way," Patrice answered her to the best of her professional opinion.

"So what's the worst that can happen?" Sharon asked her as she looked at Andy. "Um, well, worst case scenario is they remove your spleen. But, let's see what your numbers look like from the next blood test before we worry about any surgery," Patrice said trying to reassure Sharon in this.

Minutes later, Provenza walked into Sharon's room holding a balloon he had picked up from the gift shop downstairs. "Oh geeze," Andy saw the balloon Provenza was holding and shook his head. "Louie, Sharon did not have a baby," Patrice scolded him as she walked up to him and gave him a kiss on his cheek. "What? It's an inside joke. I gave Flynn an 'It's a girl' balloon when he got into his knife fight," Provenza defended his actions to his wife.

"Well, I'm flattered that you think I had a boy, Lieutenant," Sharon said as she chuckled at the thought. "Well, you did, and he's sitting right there next to you," he said as he pointed to Andy. "Ha ha, very funny," Andy muttered as he watched Provenza tie the balloon to the end of Sharon's bed. "Don't put it there, you'll block the TV for Sharon," Andy told him. "Well where do you want me to put it?" he asked him. "You really want to know?" Andy muttered back.

"Hey, gentlemen, and I use the term loosely, please do not squabble while in my room," Sharon told them. "Sorry," muttered Provenza. "Sorry sweetie," muttered Andy and he gave her a small smile as an apology. "So, Lieutenant, what's the latest on our robbery case?" Sharon asked Provenza as he moved the balloon to the corner of the room and tied it to a chair there.

"Well, it turns out our robbery ring here in LA was just the icing on the cake," Provenza told them. "This group that we stumbled upon has associates in four other states: Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Colorado," Provenza continued. "The FBI showed up at our office last night and informed us and the DA's office of their case against these people," he stated and Andy leaned back in the chair he was sitting in.

"Why did they wait so long to inform us?" Sharon asked out loud. "Not sure, but, the good news is it's out of our hands and the feds problem now," Provenza grinned. "Well, I guess that is good news then," Sharon agreed with him.

"What about the two idiots that shot at us yesterday?" Andy asked him. "Yes, those two are being prosecuted locally, first, for attempted murder of a police officer. Once they are done serving that time, they will be moved to federal custody and remanded for the robbery charges," Provenza explained.

Sharon was glad to hear that as she laid there in the hospital bed and her second in charge told them further details about the case. "We still need to go back to the office later today, but I had sent everyone home to get a little rest," he stated as he stood by the foot of her bed. "So, how are you doing?" he asked her and she shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess I'm doing okay, given the circumstances," she answered him. "Well, good, that's good to hear," Provenza said. "Hopefully, you're a better patient than he was," Provenza pointed to Andy. "Hey!" Andy chimed in and glared at his friend.

Sharon laughed and her side started to hurt. She winced and closed her eyes as she tried to will the pain away. "Are you okay?" Andy asked her and she nodded her head. "I'm fine," she told him as she opened her eyes to look at him.

Andy continued to glare at Provenza every chance he got while he tried to help Sharon at the same time. "Relax Andy, it's not his fault," her words soothed him and he felt himself relax more.

Another hour had passed by with Provenza and Patrice leaving the two of them a half hour ago. Sharon had wanted to watch TV so Andy turned the TV on for her. They were watching the KTLA Morning News at 9 when they heard another knock on her door. She looked over to see Ricky, Rusty, and Emily standing there.

"Hi Mom!" Emily said as she walked in the room. "Emily! Come here," Sharon said as she held her arms open for her to give Emily a hug. Emily walked over and gently hugged her mom. "How are you feeling?" she asked her. "Oh, well, I'm feeling better," Sharon said, which was the truth, she was feeling better. Andy and she had discussed not mentioning the different tests to her kids and he had agreed, reluctantly.

"Did Nicole get Matthew to school okay this morning?" Andy asked Rusty as he stepped over to where he was standing. "Yes, she said everything went fine," Rusty assured him. Andy then turned his attention to Ricky as he stood at the doorway.

"Ricky, let me see you," she said to him as he walked in and shook Andy's hand. "Mom, how did this happen?" he asked her after giving her a hug. He looked between Sharon and Andy. "Well, we went to find a suspect in our case and," Andy started to explain. "But where were you when our mom got shot?" Ricky asked Andy catching him off-guard. "I was right there with her," Andy stated to him.

"Ricky, Andy saved my life. If he didn't get us both out of that situation, I don't know what would have happened to either of us," Sharon told Ricky in a stern but motherly voice. "Right, sorry," Ricky apologized to Andy and he waved it off. He knew Ricky was just being protective of his mother and he didn't blame him.

It was Rusty's turn to give Sharon a hug and he did. "I don't want to hurt you," he told her as he bent over to her. "Oh, you won't Rusty," she said to him as they hugged. "Are you in pain? Did it hurt, I mean, when you got shot?" Rusty asked her. "I still have some pain, and to be quite honest with you, I didn't know I was shot until we barricaded ourselves in a room in the apartment building we were in," Sharon answered him.

"How did you not know you were shot?" Rusty asked her. "Well, adrenaline kicked in during that situation and once I thought we were safe, that's when I felt the pain in my arm," Sharon explained to him. "And you were shot in the side as well?" Emily asked her. "Yes, but that was mostly shrapnel from the bullet penetrating my vest," Sharon answered them.

"Mom, are you serious?" Emily stated as she stood there. "A bullet went through your vest and penetrated your side?" she asked and wanted her mom to clarify that. Sharon looked at Andy and then back at Emily. "Honey, forget about the shrapnel, I want to hear about you and what's going on with your ballet," Sharon said as she changed the topic quickly.

Emily sat down next to Sharon while Rusty stood by the door. Ricky stood behind Emily and glanced over at Andy who grabbed the chair from the corner of her room. "One of you can sit here if you want," Andy offered the chair to either of the two boys. "I'm good Lieutenant, thank you," Rusty told him. Andy looked at Ricky but Ricky shrugged his shoulders and waved him off. "I'm good Andy," he said to him.

Andy then took the duffle bag that they had brought and unpacked it, laying Sharon's clothing on the foot of the bed. He had asked them to bring comfortable clothes for her to wear. He pulled out a pair of yoga pants, a loose fitting top, and a sweater cardigan. "Would you like to change out of that gown and into something more comfortable?" he asked her and she nodded.

They pushed the button for the nurse and one of them came into Sharon's room. "My wife would like to change out of the gown and wear something more comfortable if that's okay," Andy explained to the nurse. "Hmm, well her doctor wants her to keep on the gown, just in case, but I don't see why she can't wear some pants underneath it," the nurse stated and Sharon sighed.

The nurse then helped Sharon walk to the bathroom where she put on her yoga pants. She also convinced the nurse to let her wear her sweater cardigan over her hospital gown, explaining to her that she was cold. She then stepped out of the bathroom and the nurse helped her back to her bed. Andy stepped over and allowed Emily to sit and talk with her mom.

There was a knock on Sharon's door and Sergeant Elliot stood by the door frame. Andy looked over in his direction. "Is this a bad time?" he asked Andy. Andy looked at Sharon as he made his way closer to Elliot. "No, you're fine," Andy said to him. "Commander, good to see you are in one piece still," Elliot said to Sharon as she stopped briefly from talking with Emily. "Sergeant, good to see you again," Sharon said and smiled to him. Emily stood up and moved out of their way.

"I understand that you need to get our statements from yesterday," Sharon asked Elliot. "Yes ma'am, I was hoping this wasn't a bad time. I didn't know your kids would be here now," Elliot stated to her. "Oh, it's fine, really," Sharon assured the Sergeant. "I can start with taking the Lieutenant's statement first, and then I'll take yours," Elliot informed them and she agreed.

Andy reluctantly started to walk towards Elliot. "Come on Sergeant, when can talk out in the hallway. There's some chairs just down the hall," Andy told Elliot and then he leaned over to Sharon and gave her a kiss on her cheek. "Kids, make sure your mother doesn't overdue things while I'm gone," he turned to Emily, Ricky, and Rusty before he walked out of the room with Sergeant Elliot.

Sharon then turned her attention to Ricky. "Richard William Raydor, please get over here right now," she sternly said to him. Rusty and Emily both looked at each other as Sharon used Ricky's full name when she called him. Ricky slowly walked over to Sharon's bed. "What on earth possessed you to question where Andy was when I got shot?!" she asked him. Ricky looked at her and scrunched his eyebrows as he stood there.

"I'm sorry Mom. I didn't mean it the way it came out," Ricky tried to explain to Sharon but she didn't want to hear excuses from her oldest son. "What exactly happened?" he asked her. "Andy got both of us out alive, even after I told him to leave me there so that he could get help," she said as Ricky listened to her. "He got us both out and made sure we both got to our car that was parked in front of the building. He then drove me here to the emergency room. He's been here ever since, not leaving my side. Now I would hope my son would treat him with the respect and dignity that he shows you," she lectured him and he nodded. "Sorry Mom," mumbled Ricky as he stood there.

Meanwhile, down the hall, Andy sat on one of the chairs as Sergeant Elliot went over his statement. "Okay, Lieutenant, if you could tell me what happened when you and the Commander arrived at the apartment building," Elliot asked him as he was prepared to write down everything that Andy told him.

"Well, we entered the apartment building and headed towards the apartment of Blake Harper. I knocked on the door and he answered it. I identified myself and Sharon as LAPD officers. Blake told us to hold on and he closed the door. I could tell he walked away and when he returned, I heard multiple footsteps. The door opened and I recognized a gun, it was a handgun and I drew my weapon as I yelled 'GUN!' and Sharon drew her weapon," Andy told Elliot as he sat there in the makeshift waiting area on the floor by the elevators.

"They started shooting at us. I fired my weapon five times as I moved to where Sharon was standing. As I turned around to grab her, the two guys were now outside the apartment and I think Sharon fired her weapon then," he paused trying to remember everything as Sergeant Elliot wrote down the information.

"I found a stairwell and pulled her with me. I should have just gone down the stairs towards the basement but for whatever reason, I started going towards the roof. I then heard the door open and knew they were chasing us. We got to the next floor and I told Sharon to stay in the room that was right there off the stairwell. She did and I went back to see where the guys were and I peeked through the door and shots were fired again. I turned and ran into the room where Sharon was, and closed the door behind me. I then barricaded the door with whatever items that were inside the room," he stated with a shaky voice.

"Okay, Lieutenant. Was that the only time you fired your weapon? When we checked your weapon, there were only four bullets left, three in the magazine and one in the chamber," Elliot stated. Andy thought about it and remembered more. "No, after we were in the room for a while and I had tied my tie around Sharon's arm to stop the bleeding, I had to find a way out. There was a fire escape outside the window. I helped Sharon up to where the window was located and that's when I heard the guys starting to break through the door. I fired my weapon again four more times, I knew I had hit one of them because I saw them go down," Andy told him.

"Yes, you had hit Shawn Miller, he was DOA when SWAT took over the building," Elliot had told him as he read over his notes from the case. "Provenza told me that there were two people that they arrested," Andy stated and wondered if he had killed one of the men, who was the other one arrested. "Yes, Blake Harper and Leon Murphy were arrested on the scene afterwards," Elliot informed him as he sat back on the chair.

"I'm not sure who those two guys are, Shawn Miller and Leon Murphy, those names never came up on our search," Andy sat there wondering. Sergeant Elliot stood up and then Andy did as well. "Lieutenant, thank you for your statement, now I just need the Commander's and I'm all set," Elliot shook his hand and then they walked down the hallway going back to Sharon's room. Elliot stopped halfway and then turned to Andy.

"Don't worry about this investigation, Lieutenant. I'm going to clear both of you; you'll get your weapons back. Just concentrate on getting the Commander back on her feet," Elliot told him and Andy nodded. They continued to walk down to Sharon's room, stopping just short of the doorway. "I'll tell her you're ready for her," Andy told him and then he stepped inside the room.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

 **A/N:** No spoilers from tonight's episodes. I can't even put into words right now. I decided to post a new chapter instead.

Chapter 9

Rusty was sitting on the chair by the window while Emily was sitting on the chair closest to Sharon and Ricky was sitting at the foot of Sharon's bed. Andy smiled and caught Sharon's eye as he stepped in. "How'd it go?" she asked him as he stepped forward. "Not bad, he's ready for you if you feel up to it," Andy told her and she nodded.

"We all can leave the room," Ricky said as someone else stepped inside. "Knock, knock, Hello Sharon, I'm Gabrielle, your physical therapist. Your doctor wants you to start walking around some so let's get you up!" Gabrielle cheerfully said.

Andy rolled his eyes as Ricky stared in awestruck when Gabrielle entered the room. He then slapped him gently on his shoulder and Ricky turned to him. Andy just shook his head and Ricky huffed. Gabrielle walked over to Sharon's bed and helped her to stand up.

"Why don't you guys go get something to eat while I go for a walk with your mother," Andy suggested to the kids as they were sitting around. "Sure Andy, we could do that," Emily said and then stood up and gathered her brothers. "Come on," she gestured for them to head out of the room.

Sharon stood up and walked a few steps with her IV pole and paused for a moment. "You okay?" Andy whispered to her as he placed his hand on the small of her back. She nodded and then continued to walk. The physical therapist then walked with her out of the room and Andy followed behind them.

"Sorry Sergeant, I think this is a bad time," Sharon heard Andy say to Sergeant Elliot. "Andy, it's okay. I can talk with the Sergeant as I am walking, as long as that's okay with him?" Sharon said as she looked at Elliot. He nodded and joined her in her walk.

Andy was behind Sharon as she started to walk down the hallway. Sharon told her recollection of the events yesterday and Sergeant Elliot wrote them down as they walked. He then left and it was just Andy, Sharon, and the physical therapist walking now.

They reached one of the intersections in the hallway and Sharon paused for another minute. Gabrielle turned to her. "Are you alright?" she asked Sharon. "I'm okay," Sharon said quietly and Andy was right by her side.

"Maybe we should head back now?" Andy suggested as he didn't want Sharon overdoing things. "Okay Sharon, let's get you back to your room," Gabrielle said and they turned around and walked back.

Sharon walked back into her room with the physical therapist. Andy walked behind them. "You did very well this morning," Gabrielle said as she helped Sharon sit back down on her bed. "I'd like to just sit here if I could?" Sharon asked her.

"Not a problem. I'll be back a little later this afternoon for another round of walking if that's good with you," she said and Sharon nodded as she sat there. "Thank you," Andy said to Gabrielle as she left the room and he walked over to where Sharon was sitting on the side of her bed.

"You did well, Sharon," he said to her as he sat across from her. She smiled and was grateful for his support. The truth was she didn't want to alarm Andy because she felt exhausted after her walk. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she sat there. Andy knew she was tired from her walk, he could tell.

Sharon sat there as Andy watched her and she opened her eyes. Andy's eyes met hers and showed concern. "Why don't you lie back down, sweetheart," he told her as he reached his hand and placed it on her left arm. She didn't say anything but scooted back on the bed with the help of Andy. He then adjusted the head of her bed so that she would be sitting more upright. He helped her get settled and she let out a slight moan.

"I know I keep asking you this, and I know what you'll tell me," he started to say as he looked at her. "I will let you know if something really hurts me or if I'm not feeling good, I promise you," Sharon quietly told him. He stood there and watched her but then was interrupted by the nurse coming back into her room.

"Okay Sharon, we are going to draw some more blood again and see where your numbers are ranging since you had the platelet transfusion a couple of hours ago," the nurse washed her hands and then stepped towards the right side of Sharon. She placed the vials on the tray and started to find a vein on Sharon's arm. "There we go," she placed the small needle in her arm and blood started to flow down the tube into the vial she had attached to it.

Sharon winced at the pinch this was causing and Andy grabbed her left hand and held it as the nurse drew the blood from her. She filled up four different vials and then placed a Band-Aid where the needle went. "Alright, you're all set my dear," she handed the vials to another nurse who stepped into the room.

"I'm just going to check everything, make sure your wound is healing on your side and your arm," she made her way around to the other side of the bed as Andy took a couple of steps away. "I understand you went for a walk this morning, how was that?" she asked Sharon as she undid the dressing on her side.

"Tiring," Sharon wanted to be honest with the nurse. "That's to be expected after what you've been through," the nurse moved about, placing a new gauze and covering on Sharon's side. "You know, you're pretty lucky to have such a caring husband, not to mention cute as well," she whispered to Sharon as she checked her left arm. "I am," Sharon chuckled at that comment and then glanced around the nurse to catch Andy's eyes.

He stood there watching the nurse take care of Sharon. He gave Sharon a smile when she looked at him as the nurse was changing the dressing on her arm. The nurse finished up and told both of them that they should get the blood test results within a half hour.

Andy moved back to sit next to Sharon. "What was the nurse telling you that made you laugh just now?" he asked her as he held her left hand in his. "She told me how lucky I am to have such a wonderful, caring, and worried husband," she smiled. "Well, someone has to be worried about you," Andy smiled back.

Her kids came back to the room after having been in the cafeteria of the hospital. As they walked in, they spotted their mom and Andy watching TV. "Did you get something to eat?" Sharon asked the three as they made their way back into her room.

Emily went to sit on the chair by the window and Ricky leaned up against the wall. "Yes, Mom," Rusty answered for all three of them and Sharon wondered why her other two children were quiet all of a sudden. She glanced at Andy who shared in her worry.

Andy then stood up from the chair he was sitting in and grabbed the extra change of clothes they had brought him. "I'd like to change my clothes quickly; do the three of you think you can watch her while I do that?" Andy asked them.

"Of course, Andy!" Emily answered him as she started to stand up from her chair. "Take your time," he heard Rusty say as he gathered his new clothes and smiled at Sharon. He then made his way into the bathroom in her room and closed the door behind him.

Placing his clothes on the shelf inside the bathroom, he took a good look at his face in the mirror. He definitely needed to shave this morning as he looked closely at the stubble across his jaw. He then turned the water faucet on and started to wash his face.

Meanwhile, outside in Sharon's room, Emily, Ricky, and Rusty were sitting with Sharon as she watched the TV. She quickly turned the TV off and cleared her throat. "Okay, would one of you mind telling me what had the three of you so quiet when you came back?" Sharon asked her children and they all looked at her.

Emily was the first to speak. "I had told Dad that I was in town and he wanted to know why," she started to say as she cleared her throat. Sharon knew where this was going but she stayed calm for her health sake. "I told him you were shot, and that's why I flew here last minute," she continued.

Sharon looked at Ricky as Emily spoke and his head was down. She then turned her attention back to Emily. "He insisted on coming here to see Ricky and me," she finished as she looked at her mom. She couldn't tell if she was mad or upset or anything at that moment.

Sharon shook her head as she processed what Emily had said. "No, Emily I don't think that is a good idea to have your father come here to my hospital room," Sharon protested. "I understand you want to see your father and I would never stop you from doing so, but, I don't want him here," Sharon added as she glanced at Ricky.

"I told her you wouldn't want that mom, but she didn't want to listen to me," Ricky added as the three of them continued their banter. Rusty watched as the three of them continued to discuss Jack. "Yes Ricky, but then I agreed to meet him downstairs in the waiting area there," Emily answered and then turned to her mom. "I won't bring him up here, Mom," she assured Sharon.

Sharon sat there and took a deep breath. "When is your father coming here?" she asked as she glanced at the bathroom door that was still closed. Emily looked at her watch. "In an hour," she looked at her mom.

Andy had changed his clothes. He was now wearing a white t-shirt underneath his lavender V-neck sweater and a pair of jeans. As he stepped out of the bathroom, he noticed that everyone was silent when he walked out. "What's going on?" he asked as he placed his clothes in the duffle bag. He looked around at everyone there.

"I was just getting ready to leave," Rusty cleared the silence as he stood up from the chair and walked over to Andy and Sharon. "So soon?" Sharon questioned him but she knew he had to get back to his internship at the DA's office. "I'll check in on both of you later today," he kissed his mom on her cheek and then waved to his brother and sister before leaving the room.

"Alright, what did I miss?" Andy asked Sharon and then glanced at the other two who were still silent. "Andy," Sharon said to grab his attention back to her as she reached out to take his hand. He turned his head and looked at her. "Did I miss the Doctor? Did he tell you something else?" he chuckled nervously.

"No, sweetie," Sharon started and then took a deep breath before she continued. "Emily contacted Jack to tell him that she was in town, and he wanted to know why so she told him that I had gotten shot," she explained to him.

"Oh geeze," he muttered as he stood there and then glanced at Emily. He gave her a small smile because he knew the importance of rebuilding relationships. He turned his attention back to Sharon as she continued to speak to him. "He will be here in an hour, but, Emily will be meeting him downstairs," she told him. "And under no circumstances is he to come up here to my room," she told Emily as she glanced over at her.

"Yes Mom, I get it," Emily answered her mother's stare as she looked at her and her step-father. "What about you, Ricky? Are you going with your sister to meet your father?" Andy turned the question to Ricky who was still leaning against the wall.

"Um, well, I haven't decided yet," Ricky shrugged his shoulders and Andy nodded, knowing that it was his decision to make. Andy then turned to Sharon and squeezed her hand. "Well, there are worse things than Jack coming here I suppose," he told her and she gave him a smile. He then sat down next to her bed and waited.

An hour later, Emily and Ricky both left to go downstairs and meet their father while Sharon and Andy were still waiting for her latest blood test results to come back. Andy glanced at Sharon and saw she had fallen asleep. He took this opportunity to stand up and walk over to the window in her room. He looked outside and saw the busy streets filled with cars and people.

He leaned his head forward against the glass. It felt cool against his forehead and he closed his eyes for a minute, thinking about everything that had happened to them. A knock at the door brought his attention back and he turned around to see Chief Mason standing at the doorway. Andy glanced at Sharon and saw she was still sleeping so he walked over to meet Chief Mason and gestured with his hand for him to step outside.

They stood in the hallway of the hospital. "I just stopped by to see how she was doing," Chief Mason informed Andy as he stood there with his arms folded in front of him. "Yeah, well, she's doing okay," Andy replied not fully trusting Mason still.

"Look, Lieutenant, I'm not the bad guy here," Mason said which threw Andy for a loop. "I knew as much about this robbery ring as you all did. It wasn't until late last night and early this morning that I found out about the FBI's involvement," Mason continued.

"I know I'm still considered an outsider to Major Crimes. You guys are a family and family bonds are strong," he added as Andy stood there. "What are you asking me?" Andy interrupted him for a second. "Give me a chance, Lieutenant. Sharon did and I think you will find that I am on your side," Mason extended his hand for Andy to shake.

Andy looked at him. Truth was he never trusted the higher ups in the department. He learned that from early on in his career. He shook his hand anyway. "Please let me know if you need anything, Lieutenant. Also, take as much time off as you need for the both of you," Mason added and then left the hallway and headed towards the elevators.

Andy joined Sharon back in her room and sat down next to her. He wondered how Emily and Ricky were doing meeting Jack downstairs. Andy shook his head. He'd like to punch him in the face for once; after all of the things he had put Sharon through over the years.

Just then, another doctor entered her room. She glanced at Sharon, who was still sleeping, and Andy who was sitting by her. "Hello, my name is Doctor Yu, I'm an associate of Doctor Fishman's," she softly spoke to Andy as to not disturb Sharon. Andy nodded to the doctor as she greeted him.

"How is she doing?" she asked Andy as she looked over her chart. "Well, she seemed to be a bit tired after she went for a walk with the physical therapist earlier," Andy explained to her, slightly wishing that Sharon was awake so that she could hear what the doctor was saying.

"I have the results of the latest blood test, but I would like to tell both of you," Doctor Yu walked around to the other side of Sharon's bed as she looked at the monitor and the IV pole. "I can wake her up," Andy gently touched Sharon's arm. "Sweetheart," he gently nudged her awake and Sharon opened her eyes.

"What time is it?" she asked groggily as she woke up. "It's a little past 11:30," Andy whispered to her as she tried to adjust her body on the bed. Andy helped her. "The Doctor is here and has the results of your latest blood test," he told her as she looked at him and then at the doctor.

"Hi Sharon, I'm Doctor Yu, I work with Doctor Fishman," the Doctor told her. "Oh, nice to meet you," Sharon sat up more. "Sorry I was sleeping," she added. "Don't worry about it, you need to get better and your body knows that," the Doctor told her as she held her chart.

Sharon grabbed Andy's hand as they both looked at the Doctor and waited to hear what she had to tell them.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

 **A/N:** I'm still reeling from that fateful episode Tuesday night. I'm trying to process it but I'm still having a hard time comprehending why such an event had to happen. There were so many other ways things could have gone down. It was pointless. For my readers that are still with me, reading this story as I move it along, I just want to let you know that Sharon Raydor/Flynn will live on in my stories, I can guarantee that much to you all. I am trying to finish this story but since Tuesday I have been finding myself distracted with grief and mourning the loss of a great character. Bear with me as I continue to write...

Chapter 10

Emily and Ricky waited patiently for their father to show up in the waiting area of St. Leo's hospital. Emily was sitting down on one of the chairs and noticed the people around her waiting to hear about their loved ones. She watched Ricky starting to pace as she wondered where their father was. Just then, the doors opened and Jack walked inside. He looked around the room and saw Emily and Ricky. He walked over to them and Emily stood up and gave him a hug.

"Dad," she took a deep breath as she hugged him, trying to determine if he recently had something to drink. "My ballerina girl, how are you doing?" he asked her as he pulled away from the hug. "Uh, I'm doing okay," she hesitated because she didn't want to tell him that she no longer had a job. He then turned to Ricky and held out his hand for him to shake.

Ricky looked at him for a second before extending his hand and shaking it. "Dad," he simply said as he looked at him. "Why don't we go sit outside, it's less crowded, and we can catch up?" Jack suggested to his kids and they followed him outside to a nearby bench.

"So, tell me, how's your mother doing?" Jack asked them as they sat down. Emily looked to Ricky before she answered him. "Um, she's doing okay, Dad," she told him. "How did she get shot? Isn't Flynn always with her?" Jack snapped as he shook his head.

"Dad!" Emily quipped back to scold him. "Look, I know you and Mom don't get along anymore, but really? Do you have to be like that?" Emily pleaded, which made Jack re-think his statement. "Sorry," he mumbled. "So, really, how did your mother get shot?" he asked again.

"She told us they were investigating some robbery ring and went to one of the person's apartment buildings where they were shot at," Emily started but Jack placed his hand on her shoulder to stop her from going further. "Robbery ring?" he repeated as he looked at her and then glanced at Ricky.

Meanwhile, back in Sharon's room, Doctor Yu was explaining the latest blood test results to her and Andy. "We still haven't seen a change in your platelets count," she explained and Sharon took a deep breath. "Meaning?" she asked as she held Andy's hand in hers. "This is a mild case, Sharon, and we are confident that your spleen needs time to heal from the bullet fragment. What were are going to do is monitor you right now, and in two weeks, we will schedule you to come back for another CT scan of your spleen to see if it shows normalcy by then," Doctor Yu explained to them.

"Is this dangerous?" Andy asked as he looked at Sharon and then at the Doctor. "With this mild form of Thrombocytopenia, or low platelets, no. We are monitoring for any sign of internal bleeding, and given the tests that were run earlier this morning, there are still no signs of internal bleeding, which is good," Doctor Yu explained as she drew a picture on the dry-erase board on the wall.

"The only thing right now is that you may bruise more easily, and if you cut yourself, it will bleed more," Doctor Yu explained to them and Andy looked at Sharon with worriedness.

"Let me explain to both of you what it is we are looking at," she told them and then she stepped to the side of the board so that they could both follow her on the explanation. "Because you had trauma to your spleen, your body reacted to it by enlarging that organ. We've seen it before in many cases of trauma and when given proper time to heal itself, the spleen usually goes back to regular size," she drew some arrows on the board.

"Inside your spleen, platelets are formed, we need platelets to help our blood clot properly, otherwise we tend to bleed easier," she stated. "When the spleen is enlarged, it causes the platelets to get trapped inside, which in turn, causes the low count in them," she continued.

"So, Sharon needs to rest for the next two weeks then, is that correct?" Andy asked the Doctor hoping that she would back him up in that discussion. "Yes, no heavy lifting, no driving, and no going to work," Doctor Yu informed them. Andy sat back and looked at Sharon who pursed her lips when the doctor told her she couldn't go back to work yet.

"We are going to keep you overnight for more observations, and then, I believe Doctor Fishman will release you tomorrow morning, pending everything is okay," Doctor Yu informed them both and Andy nodded. She then left the room and Sharon let out her breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

"Hey, it's not the end of the world," Andy whispered to her as he looked at her and saw tears in her eyes. She shook her head. "What if it stays enlarged, or what if internal bleeding starts and," she tried catching her breath. Andy placed his hand on her arm and tried calming her down. "Sharon, we're in this together, one step at a time, remember?" he told her. "Besides, you are going to stay home and follow the doctor's orders," Andy made sure she knew that.

She gave him a look, equivalent to almost Darth in style, but then it faded into pure love, because as she looked at him, she saw the love in his eyes and thought that was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She smiled and he returned her smile as they waited for her kids to return from seeing Jack.

Outside, Jack, Emily, and Ricky were still talking. Emily and Jack were sitting on the bench, while Ricky decided to stand up and lean on a nearby tree. "So, what's this I hear about you not getting the lead role for the next production?" Jack asked Emily. Emily looked at her father and wondered where he had heard that. "Uh," she started to say but he interrupted her, answering her questioning look.

"Ricky told me," he muttered as they both glanced across the pathway to look at Ricky. "Well, I didn't get the part, but something may be in the works, and I just need to see how it will work out," Emily explained to her father. "Something in the works? With the same dance company?" he wondered as they sat there.

Emily looked at her father. "I just have to wait and see, Dad. I don't want to jinx myself," Emily smiled and Jack patted her shoulder. "Okay," he said as he glanced at his watch. "Well, I am due in at court in an hour so I need to get going," he stood up and faced his children.

"Emily, it was nice seeing you. Please let me know what happens, with everything," Jack hugged her and then pulled away. "Ricky, you take care," Jack shook his hand and then gave them both a wave as he walked off.

Emily waited until their dad was out of sight before slapping Ricky in his shoulder. "Ouch!" Ricky yelled as she did that. "What was that for?" he rubbed his arm. "You told Dad that I'd been cut?" Emily questioned him. "Well, he called one day and I really didn't have anything else to say to him," he shrugged his shoulders as they walked back inside the hospital.

After taking the elevator back up to their mother's floor, they both step out and walk towards her room. Ricky stopped Emily about half way and looked at her. "Do you think Mom is going to be okay?" he asked her in his serious voice. Emily paused for a moment, looking at her brother. She saw the worriedness on his face. "Yes she's going to be fine. She has to be fine, now come on, before they think Dad took us away," she continued to walk towards the room.

They entered the room and saw Andy holding their mother's hand as he sat next to her. Sharon turned to see them as they walked in. "So, how was your visit?" she asked them both. Ricky shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the other chair in the room and sat down. "It was fine, Mom," Emily answered her as she watched her brother.

Emily then looked at her mom and at Andy. She could tell something was up. "Did we miss something? Was the doctor here?" she sounded concerned. Sharon looked at Andy and he nodded to her. "The Doctor is going to release me tomorrow morning, they are keeping me for observation one more night," Sharon told them.

"Oh, well that's good news then, right Ricky?" Emily looked at her brother as he stood up and joined her at the foot of their mother's hospital bed. "Yes, that's good news Mom," Ricky said, trying to cheer their mother up. "Um, well, yes and no. You see," Sharon started to say but then she looked at Andy.

"What your mom is trying to say is that," he took a deep breath before continuing. "Her spleen is enlarged, and the doctors are a little concerned about that because it is causing her platelet count to be on the low side. The doctor is releasing her tomorrow morning, but she has to take it easy for the next two weeks, no work, no lifting, just rest," Andy explained to them as Sharon wiped a tear from her eye.

"Oh, Mom!" Emily looked at her and sat down on the other side of the bed, careful not to mess up the IV lines that are there. She lightly touched her right hand. "It's going to be okay. I can stay with you for the two weeks, if you want, just to help," she told her and that made Sharon cry. Sharon shook her head. "I'm sorry I'm crying," she said as Andy gave her a Kleenex to use. "Mom, it's okay, really," Emily and Ricky said in unison as they watched her wipe her tears away.

Meanwhile, Sharon's lunch arrived in the room and the person placed her tray on the tray table. "Thank you," Andy said to them as they left the room. "Your lunch my dear," Andy removed the top on Sharon's tray to reveal her lunch. A lean chicken breast, green beans, and some orange slices were awaiting her.

Sharon sat further up in the bed after she had made herself look presentable again. Emily moved the used tissues and stood up, moving out of the way. Andy moved the tray table over Sharon and she looked at her food.

"Mom, I think we are going to leave now," Ricky stated and Emily looked at him. "Oh, are you sure?" Sharon asked as she cut up her chicken and ate. Both of them nodded. "Do you need us to get you anything? We can go to the store or something if you want," Emily asked them and Sharon looked at Andy.

"Um, yeah, if you could go to the store, get some groceries. Here is a list of food the dietician dropped off this morning that they say will be good for your mother in her recovery," Andy handed them the piece of paper. "Oh, and here is some money," he reached into his wallet but Ricky stopped him. "It's okay Andy, we got this," he assured his step-father and Andy smiled.

"Could one of you pick up Matthew from school at 2:30 and bring him here?" Andy asked them as he walked out with both of them. "Of course, we can do that," Emily smiled and gave him a hug. "See you later," she said to him. "Andy, about earlier, I," Ricky started and then shook Andy's hand. "Don't worry about it," Andy told him and then he watched them walk down the hallway.

When Andy entered Sharon's room again, she was almost done eating. "Looks like you were hungry," he smiled at her. "If you want to get something to eat, please do so, I'll be fine on my own for a little bit here," she gave him a smile as he stood there watching her. He hated to leave her but she seemed to be doing much better.

He hesitated before he agreed with her. "I'm just going to bring something back and eat it here," he told her and she nodded. He gave her a kiss before he left her room and headed back down to the cafeteria.

Meanwhile, at Matthew's school, the kids were enjoying recess after having their lunch and his teacher noticed Matthew sitting on the swings by himself. She decided to walk over to him. "Matthew, is everything okay?" she asked as she sat down next to him on the swings. He shook his head no.

"You know, I noticed you've been quiet today, in class when we continued our discussion from yesterday on the different types of rocks, you didn't jump in, and you were especially quiet during Math. What's going on?" she asked him as he looked straight ahead at the other kids playing.

"You know my mom's a police officer right?" he quietly responded. "Yes, both of your parents are," she nodded. "My mom got shot yesterday and she's in the hospital right now," he told her. "Oh, Matthew, I'm sorry to hear that. Is she okay?" she wondered and now knew what had been distracting him. "My dad said she will be, but when I saw her last night, she was still sleeping," he hung his head.

"Matthew, I'm sure everything is going to be okay with your mom. I'm sure your dad doesn't want you to worry too much about it," she told him but it seemed like he didn't want to hear what she said. "I'll let you in on something, Matthew," she said and Matthew looked at her. "What?" he wondered.

"My dad was a police officer as well, with the County Sheriff's office, and I remember there were times when I was scared and worried about him just like you are, but he told me that he would always come back home to me and my mother, no matter what happened," she told him the story.

"And did he, always come back home?" Matthew asked. "Yes, he did," she said and then the bell rung for everyone to come back inside the school. Matthew jumped off the swing and waited for his teacher to walk in to the school. "Thank you," he told her, feeling a little better than earlier today as they walked in the classroom and began their afternoon classes.

Back at the hospital, Andy returned to Sharon's room with a salad and found Sharon watching TV. She immediately turned off the TV and focused on Andy and what he was eating. "You didn't have to turn that off on my account," he sat down on the chair next to her bed. "Hmm, there was nothing good on anyway," she muttered as she watched him eat.

"What did you get?" she inquired as she moved her bed more upright. "Just a salad, nothing special," he looked at her as he ate. He wondered how he was going to get her to relax and take the two weeks off like the doctor wanted. Emily was going to stay, which would help, because if she wouldn't listen to him, maybe she would listen to her daughter?

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

 **A/N:** I just wanted to thank everyone for the great reviews I have been receiving on this story. It's just awesome. I'm glad everyone is enjoying this story. I thought I would have been done with this story by the time Christmas came around but, we still have a few chapters left on it. I am also going to write a Christmas story with Matthew but that would probably be posted after the holidays. Happy Holidays everyone!

Chapter 11

Emily and Ricky waited outside Matthew's school for him to be released. As they sat in the car, Ricky was behind the wheel while Emily looked out the passenger window. "Do you think Mom is going to be okay? I mean now that we know her spleen is larger than normal?" Ricky asked her as he shrugged his shoulders.

She turned to face him and then glanced out the window as another car pulled up next to them. "She'll be fine. I'll make sure she listens and follows what the doctor tells her," as the school bell rang. The doors opened and a few teachers walked outside as the children were dismissed. Emily opened her door and got out of the car. Ricky did the same and followed her to where there was a gathering crowd.

Matthew stepped outside the doors and saw Emily and Ricky. He immediately ran over to them with his backpack on his back and gave Emily a hug. "Emily!" he wrapped his arm around her and she did the same, enveloping him in a big hug. "Hey Matthew!" she laughed as she was surprised by him. He then did the same to Ricky, giving him a hug.

"Did you get to see mom at the hospital?" he asked them as they walked back to the car. "Yes, and we are going there as soon as we leave your school," Emily told him as she opened the door to the back seat of Ricky's car. "Great!" Matthew climbed in the back seat, placed his backpack on the floor, and put on his seat belt.

They all got in the car and Ricky started to drive. "I got to see her last night, but she was still sleeping," Matthew told them as they made their way through the busy streets of LA. "She's going to come home tomorrow and I'm going to stay with you guys for two weeks or so," Emily turned her head so that she could see Matthew.

"Really? You are staying with us?" Matthew was happy and that made Emily smile. "So how was school today?" she turned back around and was now facing forward as traffic started moving again. Matthew was quiet and Emily looked at Ricky. "Did something happen at school today?" Ricky asked him. "I was just worried about mom," Matthew muttered as he looked out the window.

They finally pulled into the parking lot of the hospital and got out of the car. Matthew grabbed his backpack and held Emily's hand as they all walked inside the main doors of St. Leo's. They turned to the right once they were inside the main area and stood in front of the elevator. Ricky pressed the elevator to go up and they waited.

"Wait a second!" Matthew cried out and started to pull on Emily's hand. Emily went with him a couple of steps before stopping. "What is it? What's wrong?" she wondered as she looked at Matthew. "I want to get mom something before I see her," Matthew pulled on Emily's hand again as she looked over at Ricky who just shrugged his shoulders. Matthew led all three of them towards the gift shop.

Meanwhile, Sharon and Andy, along with the physical therapist returned from another walk. This time, Sharon had walked a little longer than in the morning. "You did much better this afternoon. How are you feeling?" Gabrielle asked her as she helped her sit down in the chair.

"Better," Sharon winced as she sat down and Gabrielle moved her IV pole to the other side of the chair. She then left the room after saying good bye.

Sharon looked at Andy who was standing across from her and then watched him walk over to the other chair and bring it closer to her. "So, they should be here soon," he glanced at his watch. Sharon hummed as she sat there watching him closely. "I hope he was okay at school today," she told him as she grabbed his hand. "I'm sure he was fine," Andy took her hand in his and placed his other hand over hers.

"I don't want to tell Matthew about the finer details of what's going on with me," Sharon said in a low voice as she took a deep breath. "Sharon, he's going to wonder why you are staying home for the next two weeks," Andy softly caressed her hand.

Matthew, Emily, and Ricky stepped off the elevator and headed towards their mother's room. Emily stopped Matthew before they walked further down the hall. "Mom's still healing so don't jump on top of her," she told him and he nodded, holding the teddy bear that was holding a heart saying 'Get Well Soon' in his hands.

Ricky stepped inside the room and gave a slight knock on the door to alert them of their presence. Sharon turned her head and saw Matthew standing with Emily. "Mommy!" Matthew cried out as he quickly walked over to where she was sitting. She reached for him and he gave her a gentle hug. "Oh, I missed you, sweetie," Sharon admitted as she closed her eyes and held him.

"I missed you too!" Matthew told her, in between a few tears. Sharon moved Matthew so that she could wipe the tears from his face. "Oh, sweetie, please don't cry because then you'll make me cry," she told him, wiping the tears from his face as Andy handed her another Kleenex. "I'm sorry Mom. I promise to keep my room clean," he told her as he stood in front of her.

She smiled at him and then looked at the teddy bear. "What's this?" she asked him and pointed to the bear he was holding. "It's for you, Emily helped me buy it," he said as he handed the teddy bear to her. She took it and looked at it. "Well, that was very nice of you to bring me that," she told him.

Matthew gave her a small smile. "I'm glad you're awake," he softly told her. Sharon looked at Andy, who was now standing, and wondered. "Provenza brought him last night to your room, he stayed briefly before I walked him back to where Nicole was waiting," Andy explained.

She then turned to Matthew. "Do you have homework?" she asked him and he nodded. "How was school today?" she asked as he placed his backpack on the floor and then sat on the empty chair next to Sharon. "I was sad," Matthew shrugged his shoulders as he sat there.

Emily looked at Ricky and then she looked at Andy who was watching Sharon and Matthew interact. "Um, Andy, we're going to go home now," Emily said, pulling Andy from his thoughts. "Okay," he turned his attention to the older kids and walked them out of the room. "Don't forget, Matthew has baseball camp tomorrow morning. We'll need one of you to drive him there. Rusty will be bringing him home tonight," Andy told them.

"Why were you sad?" Sharon brushed Matthew's hair with her hand as they sat there. "I thought I would never get to see you again," he confessed to her. "Oh sweetie, come here," Sharon gestured for him to sit on her lap. "I don't want to hurt you," he told her and she shook her head. "You're not, come on," she held out her hands.

Matthew crawled over to her chair and sat on her lap. She placed her arms around him and held him close to her. "I will always be here with you, no matter what happens," she whispered to him. "My teacher spoke to me at recess," he muttered. "Her father was a police officer too," he added as Sharon held him.

Andy came back into the room and saw the sight before him. Sharon was holding Matthew close to her and suddenly all the feelings came flooding back to him. His mind flashed to the apartment building when he tied his tie to stop her bleeding arm. Then it flashed to getting her into the car and driving her to the hospital. Sitting in the recovery room, willing her to wake up again.

Andy didn't realize he was holding his breath as he watched the two of them sitting in the chair. Sharon looked up at him and gave him a smile. He returned the smile as he walked back over to them and sat down on the empty chair. Matthew had his eyes closed as Sharon held him. "Is he okay like that?" Andy asked her as he didn't want her putting unneeded pressure on her body.

"He's fine," she simply said as she sat there. "Did Ricky and Emily leave?" she asked him. "Yeah, they're headed back to the house," Andy scratched his head as he watched Sharon. She looked at him and wondered what was going through his head at the moment. "What?" she whispered.

"I love you so much," Andy told her and then looked at his hands. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you, Sharon," his voice cracked as he said those words to her. "Andy," she said his name and he looked at her.

Before she could say any more, they were interrupted by a knock at her door. "Sorry to interrupt but I need to check a few things," the nurse told them. Andy stood up and picked Matthew up from Sharon's arms. He then placed him on his chair.

The nurse made her way to Sharon and checked the IV as she was still on a low dose pain medication drip along with the regular IV they had administered her from the beginning. "How are you feeling?" the nurse asked as she carefully checked all of the bandages. "I feel better," Sharon admitted.

"I heard the doctor is releasing you tomorrow morning," the nurse made small talk as she tended to Sharon. Sharon just nodded and smiled at her. "Okay my dear, do you want to sit back on the bed yet?" the nurse asked her as she was done checking everything. Sharon thought about it. She was starting to feel uncomfortable sitting in the chair and then nodded to the nurse.

Andy watched as the nurse helped Sharon back onto the bed. He then walked over to her and helped her get settled back in, pulling the blanket over her legs. "I'll leave you two," the nurse walked out of the room. "Thank you," Sharon told her as she left. She glanced at Matthew who was still asleep in the chair.

Andy then took Sharon's hand in his as he stood at her bedside. "We all need you to get better," he started whispering to her. Sharon looked up at him and saw the sadness in his eyes. She squeezed his hand. "Aren't you the one who said we would take this one day at a time?" she asked him, hoping to see his smile.

Andy didn't know what to say which made Sharon more nervous. "Andy please tell me what you're feeling," she asked, not wanting to push him but feeling like she needed him to tell her. He turned around to look at Matthew and saw he was asleep. He then turned back around to look at Sharon. He didn't trust his voice right now and he was overcome with emotion.

He started to cry as he sat down in the empty chair by her bed. She held onto his hand and watched him. "I've tried to be strong for you, for our family. Through all that we've been through, everything that happened to us, this, you getting shot, watching the doctors and nurses working on you twice, I don't know how much more I can take," he finally confessed to her what he was truly feeling.

She swallowed as she listened to him break down. She was right when she told Patrice she was worried about his health in all of this. He was taking this hard and kept it all bottled up until she finally got him to tell her what he was feeling. It took her breath away to watch the man that she loved with every fiber of her being breakdown in front of her.

"Andy," she choked out as she tried to gain her composure. He looked at her through his teary eyes. "I'm sorry," was all that he said to her as she continued to hold his hand. He sat there and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Don't be sorry, please. You have been so strong through everything and I love you, with all of my heart," she squeezed his hand again.

Andy looked at her and gave her a sheepish smile. "If you tell anyone that I broke down here, I'll deny it. I don't want to ruin my reputation," he managed to let out a little laugh at the end. "Oh honey, it won't leave this room," she smiled at him as they continued to hold hands.

Later on that evening, Matthew was doing his homework on Sharon's tray table while she helped him. Andy was in the corner of the room by the windows talking to Provenza over the phone. "Hey, so how did things go this afternoon?" Andy asked his partner as he looked out the window.

"Just paperwork and handing things over to the FBI, nothing major. How's she doing?" Provenza asked as he sat in his living room waiting for Patrice. "She's okay. The doctor wanted to keep her one more night for observation but she'll be released tomorrow morning. And I told her that she needs to listen to the doctor's orders and we will be going straight home," Andy told his friend over the phone as he turned around and watched Sharon interact with Matthew.

She glanced up at him as he stood by the window. She knew he was talking to Provenza as she helped Matthew with one of his math problems. Rusty knocked on her door and stepped inside the room. "Rusty!" she smiled as he came in and placed his bag on the empty chair. "How are you feeling, Mom?" he asked as he stood next to her bed.

"I'm feeling better and I'll be home tomorrow morning," she told him. "That's great news," Rusty smiled as Matthew continued to finish up his math problem worksheet.

"I'll let you go. Thanks," Andy said and hung up his phone. "Rusty, how was everything today?" he asked him as he walked closer to them. "Andrea was on edge today in court at the arraignment hearing," Rusty told them and Sharon glanced at Andy. "Jack was there with his client," Rusty added. "Where's Ricky and Emily?" he asked them.

"They picked up Matthew from school today and dropped him off here, they went back to the house to get things ready for your mom to come home tomorrow morning," Andy told him and he nodded.

Sharon looked over the homework paper that Matthew had finished. "Okay, let's see what you did," she went through the problems. Andy motioned for Rusty to join him out in the hallway and he followed him.

"What's up?" Rusty asked him as Andy stood out in the hallway. "Listen, make sure you look after Matthew tonight, okay?" Andy looked at Rusty with determined eyes making sure he was listening to him. Rusty cocked his head to the side. "Okay, want to tell me what's going on?" he asked not knowing where Andy was going with this request.

"He wouldn't tell us, but I think something happened in school today. He played it off as being sad, but I think it's more than just that," Andy explained. Rusty nodded. "Do you want me to ask him what's going on in a non-intrusive way?" he asked as Andy took a deep breath. "Don't be too forthright with it, but, yeah, see if you can get him to talk to you about it. Your mom and I have been wondering about him for a week now, but he said everything was okay with school," Andy told him and patted Rusty on the shoulder when he agreed.

"Okay, Matthew, everything looks correct! Put this away in your folder now so you don't lose it," Sharon handed the paper back to Matthew. Rusty and Andy walked back into the room as Matthew was packing up his backpack. "Alright Matthew, you're going to go home with Rusty now and tomorrow mom will be home," Andy told him.

"But I thought I could stay here with you tonight?" Matthew asked as he looked at Sharon. "Oh, no sweetie, you need to go home, sleep in your own bed, but I promise you, when you get home from your baseball camp tomorrow, I'll be home to greet you," Sharon told him as he stood by her bed. Matthew had a sad look on his face again.

"I'll keep the teddy bear you got me close to my heart tonight, plus I'm sure Moxie misses you a ton!" Sharon tried to persuade him. "Alright," Matthew said reluctantly with a pouted face. He leaned up close to Sharon and gave her a kiss on her cheek. "I love you Mommy," he whispered to her. "I love you too," she whispered to him.

Matthew then hugged Andy. "Bye Dad," his voice was muffled by Andy's body as he hugged him back. "Be good, and listen to your brothers and sister, alright?" Andy told him and Matthew nodded. "Good night Andy, good night Mom," Rusty said and then walked out with Matthew.

Andy watched Sharon as they left. He moved the chair and sat down next to her again. "So, I just want you to know that when I take you home tomorrow, you are following the doctor's orders to a tee," he rubbed her arm and eventually held her hand again. She chuckled and shook her head. "I'm serious here, Sharon. You are going to get yourself better, and I'm going to help along with our children," he told her.

Sharon knew that he was serious and she knew that in order to relieve the stress in his life, she was going to have to follow the doctor's orders exactly. "I know sweetheart, I know," she told him as he continued to sit there next to her side.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

 **A/N:** Thanks everyone for the continued reviews on this story.

Chapter 12

"No, Sharon, please no," Andy mumbled in his sleep. His hand had lightly touched her hand. Sharon had woken up and she glanced over at the clock in her hospital room. She fumbled for her glasses so that she could see what time it was. The clock showed around 3:30 in the morning. Andy was slouched in the chair next to her bed. She could tell he was having some sort of dream, and by the things he was mumbling, it wasn't a pleasant one either.

"Please, you can't leave me," he mumbled as his body shifted in the chair. He reached for her in his sleep and she gave him her hand to grab. This gesture seemed to calm him down for a few minutes until he woke up, breathing heavily, eyes wide in a panic of sorts. He was looking right at Sharon who was now fully awake looking right back at him.

"Sharon," he said in between deep breaths, trying to catch himself from hyperventilating. "Andy," she soothingly whispered to him, trying to get him calm. "It's okay, I'm here," she soothed his hand as he didn't let go of it.

The light over the head of her bed was still on as they hadn't turned it off when they went to sleep. The light casted a somewhat dark glow around Andy's face as Sharon sat more upright, trying to keep Andy's attention on his breathing.

He couldn't remember the last time he had such a nightmare. As he sat there staring at Sharon, she helped him regain control over his breathing. He then glanced at the clock and shook his head. He then looked at Sharon who was now sitting fully up in the hospital bed. She reached over and he met her half way.

She took both of his hands and pulled him closer to her. "What are you doing?" he whispered to her as he was pulled closer to her bed. She scooted back and made room for him. "You need to sleep on a bed, and I need the comfort of your arms around me," she whispered. She adjusted all of the wires that were attached to her still and made sure they were free of their bodies.

"I don't want to hurt or injure your side even more than it is," he softly told her as he finally sat down on the edge of her bed. "You're not going to," she reassured him. He reluctantly started to ease down onto her bed. "What if the nurses catch us?" he chuckled as he positioned himself so that he could put his arms around her like she wanted. "I'm sure your charm can get us out of anything with the nurses," Sharon sighed as she settled herself next to him.

"Must be that low dosage pain killer you're still on that you're giving me permission to use my charm with the nurses," he smiled as she lay next to him. "I think the last time that happened was when I got into that fight after my AA meeting, when I called you from the parking lot," he remembered like it was yesterday.

"You came rushing over to the ambulance where I was sitting. You had a concerned look on your face when you saw me," he added. "I was concerned about you. I was worried when you didn't show up like you said you were going to after your meeting. When you called me and said it was my lucky day, I thought you were joking," she whispered softly.

"I was mad at you when you investigated me, after visiting me in the hospital. I was surprised when you came back around after the chief and Provenza left," he kissed the top of her head. "How did you know I came back?" she wondered as she closed her eyes. "I fell asleep but woke up and saw you sitting next to my bed. You had dozed off watching me," he whispered and she hummed.

She remembered that too. How he had looked after that incident and all of the other incidents that happened to him over the course of the years. He held her in his arms as they both fell asleep.

Andy awoke next when a nurse stepped into the room. "Don't move, you're fine where you are," she told him as he started to stir. "I'm just checking on her IV, how's she doing?" she asked as she looked at the IV bag and the connector in Sharon's hand. "Okay, I'm hoping," Andy sighed. "She have a rough night?" the nurse questioned him.

At first Andy didn't know what to say because he thought the nurse was going to tell him to get out of Sharon's bed. "Is that why you're in bed with her, because she had a rough night?" the nurse clarified as she saw the confusion on Andy's face. "Oh, um, yes," he stated back. Andy didn't want to tell the nurse that it was actually he who had the rough night. The nurse then smiled and left the room.

Andy let go of a breath he had seem to be holding as the nurse left and settled back in the bed with Sharon. He slept on his right side again, careful not to disturb Sharon's side as he laid there. He didn't fall asleep again, he just kept watching her.

Morning came and Andy's phone alerted him to a text message. He rubbed his eyes and carefully turned on the bed to the tray table where his phone was laying. He picked it up and saw a message from Emily. He glanced at the message briefly as he looked at the time. It was now closer to 7am. He rubbed his eyes again, trying to read the message Emily had just sent him.

"What?" he whispered to himself and suddenly felt Sharon's hand on his back. "What is it?" she whispered. He responded to Emily's text and told her to look on the refrigerator for his permission slip for the baseball camp he was attending this morning. "They can't find Matthew's permission slip for the baseball camp," he mumbled to her as he turned and looked at her.

'Not on fridge' was the message that came back to his phone. Andy sighed once again and tried to think of where it could be. 'And he's starting to panic' was the next message from her. Andy shook his head and pursed his lips. "If they can't find it, tell them to go online to the website and print out another form, one of them can sign it for Matthew," Sharon hit the button to bring the head of the bed more upright.

Andy sent what Sharon had said back to Emily. Sharon winced as she tried to move which brought Andy's attention back to her. "What's wrong?" he placed his hand on her arm. "I'm okay," she said as she took a deep breath but the face that she made told him otherwise. "Sharon," he shook his head and then heard the response from Emily. 'Crisis averted, printed new one, driving him to camp now' she texted to him. Andy placed the phone back down on the table and turned his attention to Sharon.

He pushed her hair behind her ear and ran his hand down her cheek. "Please tell me," he said barely above a whisper to her. "I just had a sharp pain left side when I moved, that's all, it's not a big deal and to be expected," she told him with a grimace. "Sharon, it may come as a surprise to you, but you kind of are a big deal, especially to me," he told her as he ran his hand down her arm and covered her hand.

"Knock, knock, I see that you are awake now, that's good!" the same nurse who came in this morning, walked into her room. "How are we feeling?" she asked Sharon. "Uh, well, I have some pain still on my left side," Sharon told her and pointed to where the pain was. The nurse glanced at the IV and then noted something down on her chart. "Does your stomach feel full like you ate already?" she asked Sharon. "No," Sharon shook her head. "Did the pain radiate to your back?" she asked another question. "A little bit," Sharon answered and then saw the worriedness on Andy's face.

"Okay, I'll let the doctor know, he's early today so he should be stopping by soon," she left the room and then Andy looked at Sharon. "I don't like it when you're in pain," he muttered as he held her hand again. "It's only when I move a certain way," she assured him.

There was another knock on her door and both Sharon and Andy looked up and saw Doctor Fishman standing there. "Good morning, I understand you still have some pain on your left side this morning," he said as he washed his hands and dried them with a paper towel before stepping over to examine Sharon.

"Yes, it's only when I move a certain way though, not constant like it was previously," Sharon told him as he took a look. "Okay, I'm not going to press down here because I don't want to annoy your spleen," he said as he examined her. "What movements bother you?" he asked as he listened to her heart and lungs.

"Well, a few minutes ago I adjusted the head of the bed to a more upright position and then I tried to move myself to sit up, that's when I felt the sharp pain," Sharon informed him as Andy watched. "Okay, so the pain came from here, and radiated to your back, correct?" he asked her as he pointed to the area. "Yes," Sharon nodded as the doctor wrote some information down.

"Alright Sharon, I'm still going to release you today and I'm going to give you a pain prescription to manage your pain when you go home," he told her. "Are you allergic to tramadol?" he peeked at her over the rim of his glasses. "No," she told him and then looked at Andy.

"Good, now I'm going to write the prescription and it will be filled downstairs at our pharmacy. I want you to take one pill every 4-6 hours as needed for pain, but don't wait until the pain becomes severe," he told her and then glanced at Andy to make sure he was following along.

"The pain will eventually decrease as your spleen heals, but if for some reason, the pain becomes too much for you to handle, bring her to the ER right away," he looked at Andy and Andy nodded his head. "Okay, I'm going to schedule one more CT test this morning, and then I'll release you this afternoon," he told her as he stood up from the stool he was sitting on and then left the room.

Sharon looked disappointed as she laid there. "What's wrong?" Andy asked her as he moved closer to her bed. "I just thought I would be done with the tests, that's all," she huffed and he smiled at her. "He just wants to make sure nothing is happening before he releases you," the voice of reasoning in all of this mess had always been him, even when he broke down in front of her last night.

The next thing they knew, Sharon's IV was being removed by the nurse. Sharon then handed her wedding ring to Andy. He smiled at her and then she was wheeled away for her CT scan. Andy was once again left in her room waiting for her return. Andy decided to lay out the clothes that the kids had brought her and he quickly changed his clothes as well while he waited for her return.

Once she got to the testing room, Sharon laid perfectly still on the table and listened to the technician's directions he was giving her. "Okay Sharon, I'm going to move you towards the scanner part of the machine," she heard over the speaker as she was moved towards the scanner. Sharon heard clicking noises all around her. "Alright, lie perfectly still," the technician said as the machine started to rotate around Sharon's body.

Sharon kept her eyes closed as she laid there. "Okay Sharon, I need you to take a deep breath and hold it," she heard the technician again over the speaker and she did just that. She then heard more clicking from the machine as it took the pictures. "Okay, you can release your breath," she heard and she exhaled immediately.

"You are all done, good job Sharon," the technician stated to her as he moved her out of the machine. The people from the medical staff came inside the room once she was done and moved her from the table to a wheelchair to take her back to her room.

"How long was I in there?" she asked them. "45 minutes," one of them said as they waited for the elevator to take them back to her floor. Sharon let out another breath she didn't realize she was holding. "I think they got some really good pictures, so your doctor should be pleased with that," they told her as they stepped inside the elevator.

Andy sat there on the chair and waited for Sharon to return to him. He kept glancing at his watch, wondering how much longer it was going to take. His phone alerted to a message from Provenza. 'Don't worry, we didn't catch a case, just wanted to know how things are' it said. 'Waiting for her to return from one more test and then hopefully I can take her home' Andy replied.

He then looked up as they were wheeling Sharon back inside her room. "She did really well," the technician said as she helped Sharon stand up and get back into bed. "The doctor should have the results of the test soon and he'll be in to discuss it further with you," they said and then left the room.

Sharon gave a small smile to Andy as he, once again, took a seat by her bed. "Have you heard from anyone?" she asked him, wanting to talk about something other than her scan. "Just Provenza, he wanted to know how you were doing," he told her as he watched her lay there. He then reached for her hand and placed her wedding ring back on her finger.

When the doctor came back into Sharon's room, it was closer to noon. "Okay Sharon, I have good news!" he told them both as he sat down next to them. Sharon looked at Andy and he reached for her hand to hold. "The CT scan this morning did not show signs of internal bleeding so I am going to discharge you right now," he told them.

Sharon let out a small gasp and smiled at Andy who in turn, squeezed her hand gently. "That's good news doc!" Andy told him. "Yes, so Sharon, I am not going to clear you for active duty just yet. Your spleen is still enlarged and needs rest to heal. Your platelet count is still on a lower side but not dangerous low, just be careful if you cut yourself, okay?" Doctor Fishman told her as he was writing down some things.

"Here is a list, as a reminder, of what you cannot do right now as we don't want to have any more injury to your spleen" he told Sharon as he handed the list to Andy. "And, I wrote you two prescriptions, one is the painkiller tramadol, like I told you about earlier, and the other is an anti-biotic. I want you to take the anti-biotic every morning for two weeks. You can take both of them with food or without food, and I recommend eating yogurt while you take the anti-biotic. Any questions?" he looked at both Andy and Sharon.

"No, I don't think we have any questions," Andy said as he looked at Sharon. She shook her head no as Andy handed her the list that the doctor had given him. "Alright then, I will see you in two weeks, my nurses will schedule you for that appointment. You will come to the hospital first to get another CT scan and then come to my office across the street," Doctor Fishman said as he stood up from the chair.

"If anything happens between now and your appointment, if you don't feel good or you have any severe pain, get to the Emergency Room right away," he told them and they understood. "Thank you," Sharon told him as he shook her hand and then he shook Andy's hand. "Take care," he said as he walked out of her room.

Andy turned to Sharon and saw a sad look on her face as she read all of the restrictions for her for the next two weeks. He rubbed her hand gently to get her to look at him. "Why don't we get you dressed now," he told her and she nodded in agreement. "How does he expect me to basically not do anything for the next two weeks?" she asked as she stood up with the help of Andy.

"You're going to have to do it, sweetheart," Andy smiled and knew they both had a rough two weeks ahead of them. Sharon then walked to the bathroom with the change of clothes. "Will you be okay in there?" he asked her as he followed her towards the bathroom. "Yes, I'll be fine," she assured him and then closed the door.

By the time the nurse came into Sharon's room again, she was sitting in one of the chairs while Andy gathered all of her things. "So, here is your appointment card for two weeks, you come here to the outpatient wing for the CT scan at 8am, and then your appointment with the Doctor is in his office across the street at 9am. All of his information is right here on the paper," the nurse handed the piece of paper to Sharon.

"And looks like your ride is here to take you down," the nurse turned around and saw the wheelchair was ready for Sharon. Sharon stood up and Andy was right by her side as she walked over to the wheelchair and sat down. Andy then made sure he had everything of hers with him as they both left the room.

They made their way down to the waiting area on the first floor of the hospital. "I'll go get the car and bring it around the front," Andy fished his car keys out of his pocket and headed towards where the car was parked. When they had first arrived at the ER entrance, he had left his car to the side, but when Provenza showed up that afternoon, he had moved it to a regular parking spot.

Andy found the car and placed Sharon's bag inside. He then walked around to the passenger side of the car and opened the door. That's when he saw some dried blood that was on the seat where Sharon sat three days ago. "Dammit," he muttered under his breath. He then went to the back seat and found a towel that was lying in the car. He brought the towel to the front seat and covered it as he didn't want Sharon to see that.

Andy then drove the car to the front of the hospital where Sharon and the nurse were waiting for him. He pulled up and placed the car in park as the nurse wheeled Sharon over to the passenger door. Andy opened the door for her and Sharon stood up from the wheelchair and held onto Andy's hand as she sat inside the car.

"Thank you so much for everything," Andy turned to the nurse and then she walked back into the hospital. Andy went around to the driver's side and got into the car. He looked at Sharon as she settled into the seat and paused for a moment as Sharon closed her eyes.

"You okay?" he asked her in almost a panicked voice. "I'm fine," she turned to him and opened her eyes to look at him. He nodded and then drove them both home.

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

Chapter 13

At the Flynn house, Emily was sitting on the couch, and Ricky was working on his computer. Emily's phone alerted her to a text message. She picked up her phone and saw that it was from Andy. "Mom and Andy are on their way home now," she told Ricky who looked up at her briefly before he returned to his computer.

After driving Matthew to his baseball camp this morning, Emily and Ricky had come back to the house and made sure that everything looked nice for when their mother came home. The fridge was stocked with the food that the nutritionist had given Andy and there were more blankets on the couch than usual.

Emily walked around the house one last time, making sure everything was good before she threw a kitchen towel at her brother. Ricky looked at her after having the towel hit him in the head. "Hey! What was that for?" he yelled out. "Can you take one minute from your computer and get ready for mom to come home?" she asked him as she stood there.

Ricky looked around the room. "Seems to me like you have everything under control, sis!" he told her as he closed his laptop. "What time are you picking Matthew up? I'm sure once they get home, Andy is going to want to stay with mom," she asked him as she straightened up the family room. "His camp is over at 3," Ricky stated as he placed his laptop back in its bag and helped his sister.

Meanwhile, Andy drove Sharon home. Traffic on a Saturday afternoon was building as they made their way home from the hospital. He quickly glanced over at Sharon as he drove and saw that she had fallen asleep. He took a deep breath and concentrated on driving instead of thinking about that day.

A half hour later, Andy pulled the car into their driveway and parked the car next to Ricky's. He turned the car off and gently squeezed Sharon's hand. "We're home sweetheart," he whispered to her as she opened her eyes. "I'm sorry I fell asleep," she groggily said as she sat there trying to get her bearings back.

"No worries," he smiled at her as she looked at him. She then looked out the window and saw Moxie waiting for them at the sliding glass door in the kitchen. He was wagging his tail. "Someone seems happy that you're home," Andy saw the dog too and saying that made Sharon chuckle a little. "I'm glad to be back home," she undid her seatbelt and waited for Andy to come around and open her door.

"Easy there," he said as she took his hand and stood up from the car. He placed his other arm around her waist and they both walked towards the sliding glass door. Ricky was standing there waiting for them as they came closer to the door. As Ricky opened the door for them, Moxie sat down and waited for the two to enter the house.

Sharon paused for a moment which concerned Andy. "Sharon?" he looked at her. "I'm fine," she continued and entered through the kitchen. Moxie was wagging his tail, happy to see both of them. "Easy Moxie," Andy said to the dog as they walked past him. "Emily set some things up in the family room if you want to sit down there," Ricky told his mother as he gave her a hug.

Andy closed the door behind them and petted Moxie on the head before walking behind Sharon and Ricky as they headed towards the family room. "You know all of you don't have to fuss with me," Sharon told them as she made her way to the family room and saw Emily standing there. "Welcome home mom!" she greeted her.

Sharon walked over to her daughter and gave her a gentle hug. "Oh Emily, Ricky, you guys don't have to wait on me, please," she told them as they helped her sit down on the couch. "The doctor told you to take it easy for two weeks, mom. That's what I'm planning on helping you do while I'm here," Emily smiled as she sat down next to Sharon.

"And I am very grateful that you are here, sweetie, I really am," Sharon brushed Emily's hair out of her eyes as they both sat on the couch. Andy watched Sharon interact with her kids and then glanced down at his watch. It was almost time to leave to pick Matthew up from his baseball camp.

"I'm going to go and pick Matthew up now," Andy cleared his throat but Ricky interrupted him. "Don't worry, I can go do that Andy," he told him. "You sure?" Andy asked, not wanting to overstep. "I got it, really. You haven't been home in three days either, so take a minute and relax," Ricky told him and Andy nodded.

Ricky grabbed his car keys and kissed his mother on her cheek. "I'm going to get the little squirt now, I'll be back," he told her and she smiled at him. "Thank you Ricky," she told him and he returned the smile.

Ricky passed Andy in the kitchen as Andy was bringing in Sharon's bag from the hospital. "We should be back in an hour, and don't worry about dinner tonight. Emily and I are going to take care of it," Ricky said and Andy just nodded to him as he walked out the door.

Andy then placed Sharon's bag on the counter and took out the prescription medication that the doctor had given Sharon along with the doctor's note and other information they received. He then looked out the window as Ricky was pulling his car out of the driveway.

A minute later, Rusty was pulling his car into the driveway when Andy was still in the kitchen. Rusty then came in the back door and placed his books from the library down on the kitchen table. "Hey, how's mom doing?" Rusty asked him. "She's okay. She's in the family room with your sister," Andy told him.

Before Rusty could join them, Andy stopped him for a second. "So did you get a chance to talk with Matthew last night?" he asked him. "We talked on the way home, but it was mostly about mom," Rusty said and knew Andy was disappointed. Andy sighed and shook his head. "There's something bothering him," he muttered. "Well, if there is, he doesn't want to talk about it," Rusty told him and then walked away.

Andy stood there and watched Rusty walk away towards the family room. He was contemplating his next move with Matthew. He had hoped he would open up to Rusty but that wasn't the case. Maybe he would tell Ricky as he drove him back home. He then decided to bring Sharon's bag upstairs while Emily and Rusty occupied her in the family room.

As he went upstairs, he stopped in Matthew's room. Maybe there was a clue in his room that would lead Andy in the direction of what was bothering his youngest son.

"Hi Mom!" Rusty said as he entered the family room and saw Sharon sitting on the couch with Emily. "How was the library?" Sharon asked him as he sat down and joined them. "It's a library, Mom, not really exciting," Rusty stated and Sharon shrugged her shoulders.

Meanwhile, Ricky pulled up to the Glendale Sports Complex. He parked his car and started to walk inside. There was a young woman standing at the front desk. "Can I help you?" she asked as Ricky approached her. "Well, yes you certainly can," Ricky looked at her nametag. "Donna," he finished and gave her a smile.

She smiled back and shuffled some papers around. She then gave him her undivided attention. "So, what can I help you with?" she asked him and gave him another smile. Ricky cleared his throat. "I'm here to pick up my little brother. He was in the camp for 4-6th grade," he said as she looked at one of her sheets. "What's the last name?" she asked him. "Raydor," he said without thinking and she looked for that name.

"I'm sorry, I don't have a last name of Raydor on our camp list," she told him. Ricky shook his head. "I'm sorry, Raydor is my last name. My brother's last name is Flynn," he said and rolled his eyes when she wasn't looking, cursing himself in his head. She looked back up at him and he gave her another smile. "They should be finishing up soon, you could wait here or inside," she pointed to the waiting area.

"Oh, uh, thanks, I'll wait over there," Ricky stumbled with his words and then walked over to where there was a bench and sat down, defeated. He hoped he didn't have to wait for Matthew long.

The doors opened to the facility and a lot of kids came walking out. Ricky stood up and looked for Matthew. Matthew was looking around and saw Ricky. "Hey kiddo, so how was the baseball camp?" Ricky greeted him as he came over to where he was standing. "It was good," Matthew placed his bag down on the ground and put his sweatshirt on over his baseball shirt.

"Ready to go then?" Ricky asked and Matthew nodded. The two of them walked out of the facility as Ricky looked over to Donna who was now helping someone else. He sighed and then walked out of the building with Matthew. "There's a surprise for you waiting at home," Ricky told him as he unlocked the car doors.

Matthew's face instantly lit up and he gasped. "Mom's home?" he hoped as they both got in the car and closed the door. "Yep, but the doctor wants her to take it easy for the next two weeks," Ricky started the car and drove them back home. Matthew couldn't wait to get home and see his mom home from the hospital. He sat there in the back seat and looked out the window.

Back at the house, Andy was in Matthew's room looking around. He saw some papers lying on top of one of his dressers and decided look through them. That's when he found something odd. Matthew had a copy of the last page of his adoption papers in that pile. The paper had both Sharon's and his signature on it but Andy could tell it was a copy. "Why would he have a copy of this?" Andy wondered out loud.

He left Matthew's room and went into their bedroom to put Sharon's bag from the hospital away. He then returned downstairs and checked on Sharon and the rest of them in the family room.

He came around the couch and sat down next to Sharon. She, Emily, and Rusty were talking about something when he walked in and joined them. "Okay Mom, Andy, you guys relax and the rest of us will be making dinner tonight," Emily stood up from the couch and motioned for Rusty to join her in the kitchen.

Sharon watched them retreat to the other room. She then turned to Andy and gave him a smile which quickly faded. "What is it?" she wondered as he sat there holding a piece of paper. "I found this in Matthew's room before when I was upstairs," he said and handed her the paper. She looked it over and then looked at him.

"This is his adoption paper, but why would he have this copy in his room?" Sharon wondered as she looked at Andy. "I don't know, but something's up here," he told her as they sat there on the couch together.

Back in the car, Ricky glanced at the rear view mirror and saw Matthew lost in thought. "Hey, is everything really okay, Matthew?" he asked him, wondering if maybe the kid would tell him what's been bothering him lately. "Promise me you won't say anything to mom or dad?" Matthew hesitated before he said that as he wasn't sure what Ricky would say.

Ricky blew air out of his mouth as he drove them and wondered why Matthew would make him promise this. "Okay," he said and hoped what Matthew was going to say wasn't a big deal. "I failed my math test a couple of weeks ago," Matthew told him. Ricky breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, well, that's okay. Not a big deal. I'm sure Mom and your dad told you that," Ricky told him.

"I didn't tell them," Matthew mumbled. "Why didn't you tell them?" he asked as he turned down the street. "I don't know. They were busy and I forgot to have one of them sign the test so then I forged Dad's signature," Matthew confessed and now had a worried look on his face after the reaction from Ricky. "What?" Ricky was shocked and then started to chuckle a little.

"Please don't tell them!" Matthew pleaded with his older brother. "Hey, hey, don't worry," Ricky pulled into the driveway and parked his car. He then turned around in his seat to face Matthew. "So you got an F on your test, no biggie, forging your dad's signature on that test, not good but it's not the end of the world either," Ricky tried to relate to him.

"I did plenty of that when I was your age in school," he told him. "You forged your mom's or dad's signature?" Matthew asked. "Well, no. I couldn't forge my dad's signature because he wasn't around and our mom's signature is too neat looking," Ricky told Matthew as he watched him. "Yeah, that's why I had a problem copying her signature, but Dad's isn't neat at all, and was a little bit easier," Matthew stated.

"Forging your dad's signature on a test that you failed is normal, every kid does it once. However, forging your dad's signature who happens to be a police detective? I'm not sure that was a good move," Ricky told Matthew like it is and hoped that Matthew would just tell them what he did. "You think he'll find out?" Matthew asked, hanging his head, as they both stepped out of the car.

"Well, he is a detective and pretty good at his job," Ricky said which made Matthew feel more horrible than he already did. "Mom doesn't take too well at people lying," he told him as they walked up to the house. Ricky grimaced at the last thing he said because now Matthew just felt horrible and probably made things worse.

"Hey," he reached out to grab Matthew's shoulder before he opened the back door. "If you tell them what happened, I'm sure you would feel better, and I'm sure they would forgive you," Ricky looked at Matthew and then opened the door to step inside the house.

Sharon and Andy heard Matthew and Ricky come back into the house. Sharon quickly gave the paper back to Andy as he stood up and went into the den to put the paper there. He stepped out when he heard Matthew running down the hallway. "Hey buddy, slow down!" he told Matthew as he put his arm out to stop him.

"Where's mom?" Matthew asked as he looked at Andy. "She's in the family room, and we need to be careful as she's still recovering, got it?" Andy told him and he nodded. They both then headed into the family room and Matthew walked around the couch and sat down next to Sharon.

"Mom!" he said as he scooted up next to her. "Hey sweetie, how was your baseball camp?" she asked him as he sat next to her. "Good. There were former baseball players there," Matthew said as Andy sat across from them in another chair. "Oh really?" Sharon stated and then glanced over at Andy. "Like who?" Andy asked him and Matthew thought of their names again.

"Like J.D. Drew and Adrian Gonzalez," Matthew spouted out a couple of more names as Andy sat there listening to him. "How are you feeling Mom?" Matthew asked Sharon as he sat there. "Oh, sweetie, I feel better now that I'm home with everyone here," Sharon smiled. Matthew kept thinking of what Ricky had told him. He needed to tell his parents but he didn't want them disappointed in him.

Instead, Matthew got up off of the couch when he heard Emily call his name from the kitchen. Sharon watched Matthew leave the room, quicker than anything she'd seen before and then looked at Andy who was across from her. "He left in a hurry?" she shifted on the couch. "Yes he did," Andy looked at where Matthew had disappeared to and then turned to face Sharon.

She knew that look on Andy's face and shook her head. "We'll ask him after dinner," she promised him as he stood up and sat down next to her. They cuddled on the couch and watched the TV. "Are you okay like this?" he asked her as they sat there. His arm was around her waist and she snuggled into his side. "I'm perfect," she simply stated as they sat there and watched some show on TV.

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

Chapter 14

Dinner was almost ready and Emily walked into the family room to let her mother and Andy know that it was getting close to dinner being ready. As she walked into the family room, she saw the two of them snuggled together, both of them asleep. "Mom?" she quietly walked over to her and gently tapped her on her shoulder.

Sharon opened her eyes and saw her daughter standing over her. "What is it?" she asked in a sleepy tone. "Dinner's almost ready," Emily told her, waiting for a response from her mother. "Okay," Sharon sighed and then Emily left. Sharon took a breath before she decided to wake Andy up as well. She gently nudged him with her arm.

Andy jolted from his position and looked at Sharon in wonder. "Dinner's almost ready," she whispered to him as he ran a hand over his face. He then leaned closer to her. "It's nice and warm here with you," he whispered as he snuggled his face into the crook of her neck. Sharon started to laugh and swatted her right hand towards him.

She shook her head as he gave her a look and then sat up a little bit more. He helped her and the two of them waited to stand up when Sharon was ready. "I think we should tell Matthew we want to talk with him after dinner," she told him as they sat there. Andy scratched his head. "That's going to scare him even more," he told her.

"Tell him that we know what he did and hope that he tells us?" he asked her as he helped her stand up. "No, we just tell him that we want to talk in his room after dinner and see how it goes," she told him as she held onto his arm. "Okay, if you want to do that," he trailed off as they started to head into the dining room.

The table was already set and Matthew was bringing in the dinner rolls when Sharon and Andy stepped into the room. Ricky had placed the plate with the baked chicken breasts in the middle of the table. "Oh, Matthew, your Dad and I want to have a talk with you after dinner, in private," Sharon told Matthew and his eyes got wide.

He glanced over at Ricky who was still in the dining room and Ricky subtly just shrugged his shoulders. "Okay," Matthew mumbled and headed back into the kitchen with Ricky to get more items for the table.

"Did you tell them?" Matthew asked Ricky as Emily handed Matthew a small bowl to bring to the table. "No, of course not! I told you to tell them when I brought you home. It could have saved you from the "talk"," Ricky stated and made air quotes towards his little brother. Rusty and Emily both looked at them and didn't know what that exchange was about.

Everyone brought the rest of the food out to the table as Sharon was sitting down at the table with Andy standing next to her. "Honey, could you get me one of my pain medications?" she asked Andy and he nodded and headed into the kitchen. Matthew sat down next to Sharon and was awfully quiet. He kept looking at Ricky who was sitting across from him, wondering if he had told his parents what happened.

Andy came back with Sharon's prescription medicine and handed it to her. She took the pill with the water in her glass and then waited till everyone else was ready to eat. Rusty brought the last plate out and placed it on the table. "Before we start, I think we should say grace," Sharon told them and Ricky placed the serving fork back down on the table.

They all sat around the table and said grace in unison. Sharon looked around as was happy that all of her children were gathered there tonight. She had hoped it would be under different circumstances but, none the less, they were all there.

The plates got passed and food was placed on them and handed back to everyone. Matthew ate his dinner in silence and Andy was very cognizant of that fact. He watched everyone else eat and talk about different things. "Matthew, why don't you tell us about your baseball camp today? What skills did they work on?" Andy asked him, trying to get him to talk about something.

"Uh, we did fielding, hitting, and base running," Matthew quietly spoke as everyone looked at him. "That's great, sweetie!" Sharon told him and placed her hand on his shoulder. He gave a fake smile and continued to push the food around his plate. Sharon glanced at Andy sitting next to her and he sighed.

They finished eating dinner and Emily, Ricky, and Rusty all cleaned up the table and brought the plates back into the kitchen. Andy tried to help them. "We got this Andy, please let us," Emily told him and he held both of his hands up in defeat.

Andy then looked at Sharon who was watching Matthew still sitting next to her at the table. "Can we go have our talk now?" Matthew turned and spoke to both of them. "Sure sweetie, you go up now, we'll be up in a minute," Sharon told him and Matthew got up from the table and ran up the stairs to his room. Moxie followed him up there.

Sharon then turned to Andy who was looking at her. "So, how do you want to do this?" she asked him as she took a hold of his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I think he's ready to confess to whatever is going on, let's just play it by ear?" Andy suggested and then stood up from the table and held onto Sharon's chair as she stood up as well.

"I think Ricky knows what's going on with him," Sharon said as they walked towards the stairs. "You want me to ask him before we head up?" Andy looked at her, wondering if that's what she wanted. She thought about it and shook her head. "No, Matthew needs to tell us on his own," she smiled, placing her hand on his cheek and then headed upstairs with Andy following her.

Matthew sat on his bed and waited for his parents to join him in his room. Maybe Ricky was right. Maybe he would feel better if he just came out and told them what he did. Moxie was lying down next to him and Matthew kept petting him until he heard someone coming up the stairs. He swallowed hard and took a deep breath and waited.

Sharon and Andy made their way towards Matthew's bedroom and Sharon knocked on the open door. She saw Matthew sitting there petting Moxie as she entered his room and Andy followed her closely. He then closed the door behind him to give them some privacy.

"Matthew, do you know why we wanted to talk to you tonight?" Sharon asked him as she sat down next to him on his bed. Matthew nodded. "Yes," he mumbled and then looked at Andy who was standing to the side in his room. Sharon looked at Andy and nodded to him. He took a deep breath before starting.

"Matthew, I found," Andy started but was interrupted by Matthew talking. "I'm sorry! I forged your signature on my math test," Matthew blurted out and Andy looked at him. "Wait a minute, what did you do?" Andy asked him as he glanced at Sharon. Sharon then turned to look at Matthew and Matthew looked at her.

"I forged dad's signature on my math test because I failed it and didn't want you guys to know," Matthew muttered, with tears in his eyes, and both of them were in shock. "Matthew, oh sweetie, come here," Sharon held her arms open for him and she hugged him gently. "You forged my signature?!" Andy was mad. He couldn't believe what Matthew had just told them. He was thinking something else that the kid could have down, not forging a signature.

"Andy," Sharon shook her head at him, meaning this wasn't the time to get angry. Andy couldn't believe it, and why was Sharon being so lenient on Matthew? He wondered as he watched the two. "Matthew, you know that no matter what happens in school or at home, you can always come and talk to us about anything," Sharon told Matthew as she held him.

Matthew nodded. "Well, then why didn't you tell us that you failed your math test? We would have gladly gone over it with you and helped you understand what problems you got wrong," Sharon continued as Andy just stood there with his arms crossed.

"Is that why I found the last page of your adoption papers in your room?" Andy asked him and Matthew broke from his mother's embrace. "Yes," he mumbled. "I made a copy of it," he added as he sat there. "Yours was easier to copy than mom's signature," he mumbled answering Andy's next question that he had without even asking.

Sharon turned Matthew so that he was facing her. "Matthew, that was totally wrong to do and I hope you realize that now," she told him. "I do," Matthew looked at his mom. "There will be consequences for your actions in doing this," she said as she wiped a tear from his eye with her finger. "I know," he mumbled as he sniffled once again.

"How long ago did you do this?" Andy asked him, wondering how long their son had been hiding this from them. "Two weeks ago," Matthew sniffled as Andy knelt down in front of him. "Is this why you've been acting so moody lately? Because of this?" he asked and Matthew nodded.

"You are going to have to tell your teacher about this, and we will need to schedule a meeting with her," Sharon said and caught Matthew off guard. "Wait, what?!" Matthew looked at her. "But I told you everything that I did, why do I have to tell my teacher?" he asked. "Because you handed that test back into her, correct?" Sharon stated and Matthew nodded.

"So you handed in the test with a signature that you copied, is that correct?" she wanted to clarify and maybe Matthew would understand why they had to meet with his teacher. "Yes," he muttered and his shoulders sank down as he continued to sit there and listen to them.

"We'll meet with your teacher Monday morning when we drop you off at school," Sharon said which caused Andy to give her a look. "I'm sorry mom, dad," he turned to both of them and saw the disappointment in their eyes.

Andy placed his hand on Matthew's shoulder as he sat there, shoulders slumped. "Hey buddy, we're not mad at you. Your mother and I hope that you've learned your lesson from this and don't do it again," Andy gave him a concerned look. Matthew looked at his father and nodded his head in agreement. He then gave him a hug and then turned to Sharon and gave her a gentle hug.

Sharon stood up with Andy's help and she turned to Matthew who was still sitting on his bed. "I want you to think about what you did," she said and immediately had a flashback to when Ricky was younger and she had caught him in the same thing. "No TV for a week," she told him and Matthew went to object but decided not to and just agreed.

Matthew sat there and watched his parents walk out of his room. Moxie jumped onto his bed and licked Matthew's face to cheer him up.

Andy followed Sharon into their bedroom. Sharon sat down on the chair and couldn't believe what their youngest son just told them. "I can't believe he did that! Our son, he copied your signature onto his test!" she was mad and Andy knew that. Trying to reason with her to get her to calm down due to her needing to relax was pointless at the moment.

"Sharon, calm down a minute here," Andy pleaded with her as she looked at him. "First of all, the kid admitted to doing it, he was tired of covering it up, that has to allow for something," Andy started and Sharon was going to interrupt him but he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Second, I'm the one who should be mad at him, he used my signature, and don't get me wrong, I am mad at him!" he told her as he went through the list.

"Third, you are staying at home Monday and resting, not taking Matthew to school or anywhere else," he stated and took the Darth Raydor glare from her to mean that the pain killer she had taken at dinner was probably making her feel better.

"No, he is our son, and we are going to the school together. You can then drop me off back home before you go to work," Sharon informed him. Andy shook his head and knew that her stubbornness was only going to get worse as the two weeks went by.

She then stood up from the chair rather quickly and Andy was right by her side holding her. "I'm okay," she whispered and stood in place for a few seconds before walking into the bathroom to change her clothes. Andy watched her walk away and ran his hand over the back of his neck.

He waited for her to come out of the bathroom, and when she did, she was wearing her pajamas and her robe. She looked at him and smiled. "You didn't have to wait for me," she told him as she walked up to him. "I wanted to make sure you were okay," he caressed her face with his hand. "I'm more than okay," she told him and touched his face with her hand. He leaned in and kissed her. She then walked towards their bed and propped up the pillows on her side.

"I think I'm going to just lie here and read a little bit," she told him as she sat down and swung her legs up onto the bed. She reached for her book she was in the middle of reading and settled into the pillows. "I'll go check on everyone else, including our little forger," he smiled and waited for her to return the smile before he left their room.

Andy walked down the hall and stopped outside Matthew's room. He was still sitting on his bed, looking lost like the day they had found him hiding in the closet of his old house. Andy sighed and then walked back into Matthew's room. He stood there for a second, not knowing what to say to him. Matthew looked up and saw him standing there.

He then got off of his bed and ran into his arms and hugged him. "I'm sorry Dad, I am," he cried. "It's okay, really. There are more important things to worry about like getting your mom better," he told him as he hugged him back. "I promise I won't do that again," Matthew mumbled into Andy's shirt. He pulled away to look at the boy. He then pulled out a hanker chief from his pocket and wiped Matthew's tears from his face.

"Is mom still mad at me?" he asked him as they stood there in his bedroom. Andy sighed. "I wouldn't say she's mad at you, she's had a lot thrown at her the past couple of days," he told him and ruffled Matthew's hair with his hand. Matthew nodded. "Do you think she'll let me cuddle with her for a little bit?" he asked innocently. Andy smiled. "I'm sure she would like that very much," he said. "But, remember, be very gentle as she's still healing," he reminded Matthew and then Matthew left his room.

Andy then went back downstairs as Matthew knocked on their bedroom door. It was quiet enough but Sharon heard him as she looked up from the book she was reading. She placed it on her lap. "Yes?" she said, wondering what Matthew was going to say to her.

"Can I come in?" he asked as he stood there. She couldn't stay mad at the boy. She had hoped that their earlier talk had been instilled in his mind never to do that again. "Sure sweetie," Sharon adjusted her lying on the bed as Matthew walked in and stood in front of her. "I'm sorry Mom," he told her and she looked at him.

"Come here," she said and patted the area next to her with her hand. Matthew climbed up onto their bed and lay down next to her. "You know that your dad and I want you to do your best in everything that you do, from school to sports to being kind and safe," she started telling him and he nodded.

"So then why would you do what you did?" she asked him as she stroked his hair. "I didn't want you to be disappointed," he mumbled and Sharon just shook her head. "You went over everything before the test with me and I had failed it, I didn't want you or Daddy to think I was stupid," he finally said. "Oh honey, your dad and I would never think for once that you are stupid, at all," Sharon told him.

"Sometimes, we study so hard for something and when we get the test in front of us, we don't do as well as we should have, it happens," she stopped stroking his hair as he moved to look at her. "Did that ever happen to you or Daddy?" he asked her and she thought about it.

"There were some times when I was in college that I had studied for a test and had not gotten a good grade on it. Your dad, well you'd have to ask him that, but I will say that no matter what your dad or I did, we always told the truth or something that led to the truth," she sighed and Matthew snuggled into her side a little more.

She winced and took a deep breath when he did that. "Sorry," he pulled away to look at her. "It's okay, I'm okay," she assured him as he lay back down next to her.

Andy was downstairs and found the three other kids in the kitchen. "So is Matthew still alive? We didn't hear any screaming," Ricky joked and Emily swatted her hand against his shoulder. "What?" Ricky looked at Emily and then at Andy. "Too soon?" he asked. "Yeah, too soon Ricky," Andy shook his head as he leaned against the counter.

"I'm going to head upstairs," Emily said to everyone and she left. "I should probably get back to my place and go over some more things that I found at the library," Rusty said as he gathered the books that he had brought home with him. "Good night everyone," he waved and then walked out the back door.

Ricky looked at Andy in the awkward silence that came when everyone else left. "So, Ricky, I wanted to ask you if you knew about what Matthew did," Andy said as he stood there facing him. "Oh, well, yeah, I mean he did tell me on the way home from picking him up at the baseball camp, but I told him that he should tell you and mom and that if he did, he would feel better," Ricky stated as he leaned his elbows on the island.

"And you didn't tell your mom or me about this because?" Andy wondered as he asked him. "I promised the little squirt I wouldn't, besides I told him that you were the best police detective and would probably figure it out sooner rather than later and to just come clean with it," Ricky looked at Andy, hoping that the inquiry from his step-father would soon end.

"Look, Andy, if Matthew was in danger and he told me about it, I would tell you guys right away. When he told me about this, I figured it was a minor thing and that he should be the one to tell you. I encouraged him to do so," Ricky stood up from the island and Andy nodded. "Ok," Andy simply said and then tidied up the remainder of the items in the kitchen.

Once Emily was upstairs, she went into her mother's bedroom and found Matthew cuddled up next to her mom. Sharon looked up again from the book she was reading and greeted her daughter. "Come in," she smiled and whispered to her. Emily did and walked over to the bed. "Everything okay with him?" Emily asked her. "I think so," Sharon smiled as Emily scooted herself on the bed and joined them.

"So, tell me, what's going on with you?" Sharon asked her and she told her mom everything that had been going on in New York with the ballet company and trying to find another part.

Ricky had retreated into the family room to watch a movie and Andy made his way into the den. As he sat down on the chair in there, memories flooded back to him. His mind flashed to the apartment building, rushing over to Sharon's side and seeing that her arm was bleeding. He sat there and pinched his nose, closing his eyes, willing those images to go away.

Instead, more memories came rushing to him. Them running out of the building, bullets being shot at them from up above. Getting her into the car and driving to the hospital. He was in the waiting room, alone, needing to see Sharon. He couldn't breathe; he couldn't focus on anything else. He saw Provenza walk in and sit down next to him. His mind then shifted to Sharon in the hospital room, she was okay but then alarms started going off and nurses rushed into her room. They moved him out of the way as he watched his wife cling to life.

He startled himself and opened his eyes, trying to catch his breath. When he was able to focus, he was still sitting in the den but this time the house was eerily quiet. Moxie was lying on the floor next to his chair. He glanced at the clock on the wall; it was past 11 at night. He rubbed his forehead and sat there for a second.

He stood up and shuffled his way through the house, making sure that all of the doors were locked before heading upstairs with the dog. He passed Matthew's room, noticing that the light was still on but Matthew wasn't inside. Andy then walked over to their bedroom and saw the lamp was still on by the nightstand on Sharon's side of the bed.

He saw Matthew curled up on Sharon's left side and Emily sleeping on Sharon's right side. The sight almost brought him to tears right there. He didn't have the heart to wake up Matthew and Emily so he got himself ready for bed and closed the bathroom door. He looked at himself in the mirror as he splashed some water on his face. After brushing his teeth, he stepped out of the bathroom and saw Sharon was awake.

"Sorry the bed was overtaken by these two," she whispered to him as he walked closer to the side of the bed. "Don't worry about it," he shrugged it off as he stood there. "How are you doing?" he asked as he made sure she had her pain meds and a glass of water by her side. She smiled at him. "I'm doing okay. What time is it?" she asked.

"A little after 11 at night. Go back to sleep, honey," he leaned down and kissed her lips. She smiled as she watched him pull away. He stood there and watched her close her eyes before he retreated into Matthew's room. He figured he would sleep in there since his bed was occupied. Moxie followed him there and jumped on the bed as he settled down and pulled the covers over him.

He lay on his side and was staring at Matthew's Batman figurine. He remembered what Sharon told him a couple of months ago when they had to release Croelick. "Even super heroes have their evil nemesis. Yours is Croelick," she had said to him then. He laid there staring at the figure and eventually closed his eyes and fell asleep.

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

 **A/N:** Thank you for your continuing support and reviews of this story. I didn't think we would have reached Chapter 15 when I first started this story but here we are and Happy New Year!

Chapter 15

Andy did not get a good night's sleep in Matthew's bed. He kept tossing and turning throughout the night, so much so, that Moxie stood up on the bed and watched him for a few seconds. Andy woke up and saw the dog staring at him. "What are you looking at?" he grumbled, asking the dog as he shuffled around the bed some more, trying to find a good place.

Moxie then laid down on the bed and fell back asleep as Andy laid there staring up at the ceiling. He decided enough was enough and got out of Matthew's bed. Moxie looked up at him as he made his way with two blankets and some pillows and headed back towards their room. Moxie then jumped off the bed and followed Andy.

Andy walked into their room and saw Sharon, Matthew, and Emily still sleeping soundly on the bed. He rubbed his neck, trying to get the kinks out before tossing the pillows onto the floor. He then placed the blanket down on the floor and laid down on top of it. He placed the other blanket over him and laid back on the pillows. He positioned himself on the floor so that, if Sharon needed to get up, she wouldn't trip on him.

Moxie then found a spot next to Andy on the floor and laid down next to him, letting out a deep sigh in the process. Andy started to chuckle a little at that sound. At least Sharon was getting some rest, after all, she was the one that needed it the most, he thought as he laid on the floor. He closed his eyes, hoping he would be able to fall asleep without any more nightmares of the shooting.

Sharon woke up a couple of hours later and saw that both Matthew and Emily were still in bed with her. She gently nudged Emily and whispered her name. Emily woke up to see her mom looking at her. "Is everything okay?" she sleepily asked as she stretched. "Yes, I just need to use the bathroom," Sharon told her and Emily scooted out of her way.

Sharon sat on the side of the bed. She had a minor dull ache on her side but it wasn't as bad as it was earlier in the evening. She decided that she would forgo taking another pain pill and stood up from the bed. She then made her way around the side and stopped in her tracks at the sight before her. There was Andy sleeping on the floor and Moxie was laying down with him. His right arm and hand was above his head and his left hand was laying across his chest as he slept.

Sharon smiled at the sight and then felt sorry for him because two of their kids were asleep in their bed with her, instead of him. She wondered where he had gone to when he kissed her good night and judging from the blankets and the pillow cases, she figured he went to Matthew's room. She slowly tip-toed around him, careful not to wake him up or bump into him and then made her way to their bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Andy heard a click and opened his eyes to see the light on underneath the bathroom door. He figured Sharon had gone in there and hoped that she was okay. He decided to sit up on the floor and wait for her to come out when she was done.

Sharon finished up in the bathroom and tried to be as quiet as possible. She then opened the bathroom door and saw Andy sitting up staring at her as she came out. She turned the bathroom light off and walked closer to him. "I'm sorry I woke you," she whispered to him. "You didn't, it's okay," he whispered and then stood up to join her in front of the bathroom.

"I'm sorry that the kids took over our bed," she ran her hand through his messy hair and he closed his eyes, reveling in her touch. "It's okay," he whispered as he opened his eyes to look at her. He took a hold of her hand as she lowered it and brought it up to his lips and kissed her hand. She smiled and he smiled back at her.

"I'll ask Emily to move back to the guest room," she started to say but Andy stopped her. "No, don't. I can go back to Matthew's room, I just wanted to check up on you," he told her as he still held onto her hand. "I got a better idea," she led him to the guest room, which was empty, and pulled him down with her on the bed. He slipped in behind her and pulled the covers up to meet them both. She settled down on her right side and Andy held onto her as he laid down. "I like your idea better," he muttered to her. They both let go of a sigh as they closed their eyes and fell back asleep.

Morning came and the sunlight was coming through the blinds in the guest room. Andy stirred awake but something or someone drew his hand back into a tight hold. He opened his eyes to see Sharon's hair in his face and he took a deep breath. "Morning," he grumbled as he moved her hair with his free hand and kissed her neck. "Morning," she turned onto her back and greeted him with her smile.

Andy leaned down and kissed her lips gently. "How are you feeling?" he asked her as he pulled back and sat up from her. "Better," she looked at him as he ran his hand through his hair. He then glanced over at the nightstand in the guest room and looked at the clock. It was 9:30. "It's 9:30?" Andy rubbed the back of his neck. "How did we sleep so late?" Sharon wondered.

They both started to get out of the bed and Andy quickly went over to Sharon's side and helped her stand up. "You know, I am capable of standing on my own, right?" she told him. "I know, but like you told me all those times before, you were there to help me, so now I'm here to help you," he said as they walked into the hallway.

They could hear voices downstairs and figured the kids were already up. Sharon walked into their bedroom and grabbed her robe. Andy helped her put it on and he also grabbed her pain medication. They went downstairs and started to smell the food that was cooking in the kitchen.

"Morning everybody!" Sharon said as they stepped into the kitchen and saw her children gathered around the kitchen table eating breakfast. "Mom, Andy, we made some eggs and turkey bacon, there's toast and fresh fruit if you want some as well," Ricky stated as he stood up and moved his dish to the side. "Mom, have a seat," he gestured for her to sit down on his chair he had just occupied.

Sharon did with Andy's help and then he placed her pill bottle next to the plate that Ricky had given her. Andy went over to the counter and grabbed her anti-biotic medication, bringing that to her as well. "Thank you," she looked up at him. "My pleasure," he winked and continued to move about the kitchen. He took a yogurt out of the fridge and gave it to Sharon to have with her breakfast.

"Sorry we kind of took over your bed last night," Emily stated to Andy as he was waiting for some toast. "Oh, that's not a big deal, Emily. I'm just glad you guys are all here," he told her and then took the toast and placed it on a small plate and handed it to Sharon who now had some eggs and a piece of bacon on her plate.

Andy turned and Emily handed him a cup of coffee. "Here you go, it's decaf," she smiled and he accepted the mug from her. Andy sipped from his coffee mug as he watched Sharon eat and interact with her children at the kitchen table.

After breakfast was over, the older children volunteered to clean up the kitchen. Andy wasn't going to protest that. If they wanted to do it, he was going to let them. He decided to find out where Sharon and their youngest child had gone off to. Andy found Sharon in the family room with Matthew. She was going over some of his homework.

"Here you are," Andy said as he walked over to join them. Sharon smiled. "I was just helping Matthew with his science paper that he just remembered he needed to do," she told him as he sat down next to her. Andy shook his head. He was still mad at the fact that Matthew had forged his signature on a test and didn't tell them. "Is there anything else you've been hiding from us, kiddo?" Andy asked seriously.

Matthew looked up at Andy from the floor as he was writing and he thought long and hard. Every day he has an assignment notebook that he writes down all the things that he needs to do from school. He grabbed that assignment notebook from his backpack, which was next to him, and found last Friday's date. He went through the list of assignments. "No," he quietly answered and handed the notebook to Andy.

Andy paged through the notebook for the past two weeks and made sure that Matthew had done the assignments listed in the notebook. Usually he or Sharon would go through it every night, but things had gotten hectic the past week with their last case and with Sharon getting injured on top of that.

Matthew finished writing his paragraph and handed it to Sharon to read over. She did and as she was reading the paragraph, Matthew decided to ask his father a question. "Did you ever do bad on a test, Daddy?" Matthew asked which caught Andy off guard as he sat on the couch. "Um, there were a couple of times in school that I didn't do so well as I thought I did, but I always told the truth," Andy said and Sharon chuckled.

He glanced over at her as she was still reading what Matthew wrote. "What?" Andy asked her and she just shook her head. "Listen Matthew, your mom and I want you to be the best that you can be, and if you give 100 percent for something but you come up short, that's okay, because we still love you," Andy told him and then Matthew stood up and gave him a hug. "I love you too, Daddy," he said and then Sharon handed him his paper.

Matthew placed his finished paper back into a folder and placed the folder in his backpack, along with his notebook. He then took his backpack and went into the mud room and hung it up on a hook there.

Sharon scooted over to Andy and wrapped her arms around him. Andy wrapped his left arm around her and kept her close to his side. She leaned her head against his left shoulder. "That was a wonderful thing you said to him just now," she murmured as he held her. "Yeah, well, I can't stay mad at the kid," Andy shrugged his shoulders thinking nothing of it. Sharon took a deep breath and released it slowly. "You okay?" he looked down at her but only saw the top of her forehead. "Uh huh," he heard her say.

He rubbed her arm as he held her close to him. "Why don't we go upstairs and get you dressed. I'll help you take a shower and I promise you'll feel better," he suggested and she agreed, moving from his embrace as they both stood up and walked over to the staircase.

Emily came walking down the hallway and saw her mom and her step-dad starting to head back upstairs. Andy turned to her as they made their way up. "I'm going to help your mother get dressed, keep an eye on things down here, will you?" he asked her and she nodded. "Sure Andy," she worried about her mom but knew she was in capable hands. "Oh, and no TV for Matthew," he told her as they walked up the stairs.

Emily nodded and then turned around to see where Matthew had gone. She walked back into the kitchen and saw him sitting at the island talking to Ricky. "They told me no TV for a week," Matthew sounded bummed as he told Ricky what happened after the "talk" with the parents. "Hmm, I bet you that will be lifted in a few days," Ricky sounded sure of himself.

"I don't think so," Emily interrupted them as she stood there, hands on her hips, watching her brothers. "Oh, and how can you be sure about that?" Ricky questioned her as he folded his arms in front of him. Matthew looked at both Emily and Ricky in amazement as the two bantered with each other.

Meanwhile, upstairs in the bathroom, Andy was getting everything ready that Sharon needed for her shower. Towels were laid out on the sink and he made sure that there was something to keep Sharon's stitches dry. Sharon entered the bathroom and saw Andy standing there waiting for her with a roll of saran wrap in his hands.

"What on Earth are you going to do with that?" she questioned him as she placed her change of clothes on the sink next to the towels. "The doctor said to keep your incision dry when you take a shower," he opened the box. "And this will help them both stay dry," he smiled but didn't get the reaction from her like he thought he would.

She walked closer to him and placed her hands on her hips. "Look, this will work, trust me," Andy told her and then she began to undress. Andy placed the box back on the sink and helped her take her clothes off. "Alright, how is this going to work," she thought she would give him a chance even though she was skeptical about it.

"Okay, so I just take some wrap out of the box and cover it nicely over your incisions, being extra careful and gentle as I possibly can," he told her as he wrapped her left arm first and then followed up with her side. He took the wrap and gently moved it across her abdomen, and covered the incision so that besides having the gauze pad over the stitches, the saran wrap was covering it as well.

"Is that too tight?" he asked her as he looked in her eyes and she shook her head no. He gave a small smile and placed the box back on the sink. He then started the shower and made sure the water was warm enough for her. He quickly stripped his clothes off and stepped in the shower first, holding out his hand for her to take and she climbed into the shower with his help.

His back was to the shower spray as he faced Sharon. He then took a sponge and poured a little of her body wash on it before placing the sponge under the water spray. He turned around and gently started to clean her body, starting with her arms and working his way down. Sharon closed her eyes as he did this. "Am I hurting you?" he asked her as he made his way over her body. "No," she assured him as she was enjoying him and the shower.

He then carefully rinsed her off, making sure all of the soap was gone from her body and then turned off the water. He stepped out of the shower first, grabbing a towel and putting it around his waist. He then grabbed another towel and held his hand out for Sharon to step out of the shower. He wrapped the towel around her body, gently drying her off.

Sharon admired him as he did this and thought he looked particular sexy with his wet hair. After she was dry, he helped her get dressed, putting on her underwear and pants first. He gently removed the saran wrap from her abdomen first, and removing the old gauze pad. He took a closer look at her stitches and patted them dry to make sure.

"Can I see?" Sharon asked him, her voice catching as she wanted to see her side in a mirror. He stood up and she walked over to the vanity mirror and was able to see her stitches for the first time. She took a deep breath and then turned around to face Andy. He then placed a new gauze pad on the stitches and secured it with the tape provided by the hospital.

He did the same thing with her left arm and then helped Sharon put her bra and shirt on. She buttoned the shirt on her own and Andy then handed her cardigan sweater to her. "Thank you," she whispered as he stood there watching her. He smiled and then got himself dressed.

Once he was done, he stepped out of the bathroom and noticed Sharon sitting on the oversized chair in their room. "Everything okay?" he asked as he dried his hair with a towel and walked over to where she was sitting. "I need help with my socks," she told him and he kneeled down to help her. He took her foot in his hand and placed one sock on it and repeated it on her other foot while being as gentle as he could.

"Do you want your house slippers or your UGGs my dear?" he asked as he stood up and walked into their closet. "My UGGs please," she answered and then waited for his return. He placed her UGGs on both of her feet and stayed on his knees, admiring her. "I love you," he told her as he stood up and kissed her. "I love you too," she told him when they broke apart.

He was about to tell her about the reoccurring dreams he'd been having since the hospital but they were interrupted by Emily knocking on their door.

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

Chapter 16

"Hey Mom, Andy, um Nicole just called and she wanted to know if I'd like to go to the mall with her and the boys. She said I could bring Matthew with and they could hang out together," Emily walked in not knowing that she had clearly interrupted something between the two.

Andy moved to the side of Sharon as she sat there listening to her daughter. "I know you grounded Matthew, but I figured this could give you more time to relax. Although, Ricky would be here because he doesn't want to go, but Rusty said he would," Emily rambled and Sharon looked at Andy.

She knew he was on the verge of telling her something before Emily came into their room, maybe by them being out of the house, it would give them a chance to connect. "That's fine, as long as Andy doesn't object to Matthew going with you," she turned to him and he shrugged his shoulders. "That's fine," he mumbled and Emily then walked out of their room and headed downstairs.

Sharon leaned forward on the chair and ran her hand through Andy's hair. It was still damp from the shower. He turned to face her. "What were you going to tell me?" she asked him as his eyes looked lost. He took a deep breath. "I was going to catch a meeting this afternoon," he told her instead. "And I wasn't sure if anyone was going to stay here but now that Ricky isn't going," he trailed off and she sighed, knowing that wasn't what he was going to say to her earlier.

She was surprised that he even broke down in front of her in the hospital those nights ago since he always seemed to keep things bottled up until she pushed him. She thought that maybe once he returned home from his meeting this afternoon, he would be able to tell her what he wanted to say without her pushing him.

She watched him stand up and held his hand out for her to take. They made their way back downstairs where the kids were sitting and waiting around for Nicole to stop by. Ricky was in the kitchen working on his computer when Andy came in the room. "Hey, I understand that you're staying home instead of going with everyone to the mall," Andy spoke as he found a glass and poured some water for Sharon.

"Yeah, I didn't feel like going to a mall today, plus, I have some things I need to get done on my laptop before I head back home tomorrow," Ricky said without looking up from his laptop computer. "Do you think you can watch your mom while I hit a meeting this afternoon?" Andy asked. "Not that she needs watching or anything like that, but," he added. "It's okay Andy, go to your meeting, I got mom," Ricky stated as he looked at his step-father. "Thanks," he muttered and went to find Sharon.

Nicole rang the front door bell just as Andy was walking towards the family room. He turned around and went to the door. "I got it!" he called out as he opened the door and saw his daughter on the other side. "Hey sweetheart!" he smiled as she gave her father a hug. "Hi Dad," she said and noticed he was carrying a glass of water. "Come in for a second, everyone is in the family room," Andy told her and as he turned he was immediately bombarded with Emily, Rusty, and Matthew coming towards him.

He then saw Sharon slowly walking towards him and he went to help her. "I'm fine Andy," she told him and then walked over to greet Nicole. "Hi Nicole!" she said and gave her step-daughter a hug. Nicole gently hugged her back. "How are you feeling?" she asked her. "Oh, a little better," Sharon said as she gave a smile to her. "Is Dad driving you crazy yet?" Nicole asked and Sharon looked at Andy but didn't answer her, instead she shrugged her shoulders and hummed.

Andy let that pass as the kids piled out of the house and into Nicole's minivan. He closed the door behind them and locked it. Turning around to face Sharon, he was still holding her glass of water. "So, am I driving you crazy?" he said as he walked with her back to the family room. "No, of course not," she said as she sat down on the couch and he placed the glass of water on the coffee table in front of her. He then placed a blanket over her and handed her the remote control for the TV.

He leaned down and gave her a kiss, which she held him close to her and kissed him more. "Maybe just a little bit," she said as she released him. He bowed his head. "Sorry," he muttered. She lifted his chin with her fingers. "I'm not going to break," she whispered and he knew she was right, but somewhere deep down inside him, he was afraid of losing her. They both have had their run-ins with their jobs, but this time, it had hit Andy with full force.

"I'll be back," he told her as he pulled away from her and straightened up. "Take your time," she smiled and watched him walk away from her, disappearing towards the kitchen. She sat there for a moment and closed her eyes. It wasn't until Moxie nudged her hand did she open them back up to see the dog by her side, wagging his tail.

"I'm going to head out now," he told Ricky as he grabbed his keys on the counter and looked at him. He was still engrossed in his computer. "What are you working on?" he asked him before he left. "A new project proposal for a defense company," Ricky answered him. "Wow, that's great," Andy sounded proud and Ricky looked up at his step-father and gave him a smile. He closed his laptop and turned towards Andy. "I got Mom, don't worry," he told him and Andy nodded. He then walked out the back door and headed towards his car. He got in, started it, and pulled out of the driveway and headed to his meeting.

Ricky walked into the family room with his laptop and saw his mom sitting on the couch watching some program on the TV. "Hey, so what are you watching?" he asked as he sat down on the opposite end of the couch. "Oh, some made for TV movie, I think it just started," she told him as she pulled the blanket closer to her.

"Tell me, what's new with you?" she asked him and he sighed. "Well, I'm working on a project proposal for a defense company right now," Ricky told her as he watched the TV. "Oh really? That's fascinating," she muted the TV to hear more about this. He grumbled when she muted the television and turned to face her. "I can't really tell you more about it because you need a security clearance," Ricky pointed out to her.

Sharon was shocked at that statement. "I'm your mother, I think you could tell me a little bit without having to break national security secrets!" she told him. Ricky sighed. "Well, all I can say is we are working on possible encryption software, that's it," he wouldn't budge with any more information. "Well, I am very proud of you, Ricky!" she smiled, using his full first name. "Thanks Mom," he returned her smile.

"How are you doing, really?" he decided to ask her at this moment, knowing it was just one on one with nobody else to distract her. "I'm getting better, I think. The pain medication is helping and hopefully these next two weeks off can help me heal properly so that I can return to work," she told him, feeling optimistic.

"So, you still plan on working after getting shot and going through all of this?" Ricky asked as he was genuinely concerned. "Yes, Ricky, I do," she stated and then thought of how to approach that subject. "Andy and I already discussed retirement a couple of months ago, and we both want to continue working as long as we can till we are ready to retire," she added, hoping that he would understand.

"Mom, it's just, you got shot, it's not like you're in charge of IA and sitting behind a desk most of the time when we were growing up, you go out into the field and bad guys don't like you," Ricky stated and Sharon had to laugh. "Oh honey," she chuckled and Ricky gave her a look. "I'm being serious here," he told her. "I know, I'm sorry," she continued to chuckle and then took a deep breath.

"Do you guys even have a plan if something happens to one or both of you on the job?" Ricky asked her and she cleared her throat. "Yes, we do, that's all I'm discussing now on this topic," she told him and he got the hint. She decided to change the subject. "So, are you dating anyone?" she asked him and he rolled his eyes.

Andy arrived at the church hall and stepped inside, finding an empty seat towards the middle. There were only a few other people sitting down and he waited for the meeting to start. He glanced at his watch. "Okay, we're going to get started now," a guy stood in front of the gathering at the microphone. "Hi everyone, I'm John, and I'm an alcoholic," the guy said over the microphone. "Hi John," everyone said in unison as Andy sat there, arms on his thighs as he listened to John's story.

Andy heard these stories a million times over as he sat there and listened to everyone speak their say. He pondered on whether or not to share what happened since he last attended a meeting. "Okay, now we are going to pass the mic around since there are only a few of us today. If you want to talk, great, if not, just pass the mic to the next person," John said to them and he handed the microphone to a woman in the front row.

"Hi, I'm Patty and I'm an alcoholic," Patty said as she sat there and faced everyone. Andy listened to her story about how she was married to the love of her life until a tragic day 5 years ago when he was taken from her too soon. She had fallen into the bottle and drowned her sorrows in vodka. Andy closed his eyes for a brief second before opening them again.

The microphone got passed along and a discussion followed until the microphone was passed to Andy. He took the microphone from the gentleman who had just finished speaking and raised it up to speak. "My name's Andy, and I am an alcoholic," he started and waited for everyone's response before continuing. "I've been sober for 20 years now and had some challenges along the way but I've always maintained my sobriety," he stated and everyone clapped.

"I'm a detective and last week, my wife, who's also a detective, we got into a shoot-out with two bad guys, long story short," Andy said as he scratched his head before continuing. "She got hurt, badly, and was just released from the hospital yesterday. Her kids are in town to help her while she recovers for the next two weeks because the doctor doesn't want her doing anything that could injure her more," he stated and took a deep breath.

"It's not that I want a drink, I don't. But I can't stop seeing the scene play over and over in my head. Every time I close my eyes, I see her get shot, or I'm waiting in the hospital for her to wake up, or doctor's rushing to her in her room," he took another deep breath and looked at John. "I thought talking about it here would help me," he smiled and shook his head. "And did it?" John asked him. "I don't know," Andy shrugged his shoulders and handed the mic to the next person.

Andy sat there as the meeting finished up and they all said the serenity prayer together. John came over to where Andy was standing and offered him a handshake. Andy accepted it. "I'm retired LAFD, was a Captain over in the Rampart district," John told him. "Lieutenant with the Major Crimes division of the LAPD," Andy stated. "Have you spoken to your sponsor yet?" he asked him. "Briefly but he's out of town," he told him.

"Doesn't the LAPD have registered psychologists or therapists to help you guys through these issues?" John asked him as he started to walk with Andy towards the door. "I really don't want to see a shrink," Andy laughed as he rubbed his neck out of nervous habit. "I'm not telling you what to do, but as a Captain, I saw a lot of my men and women affected by fires and it helps to talk to a professional about these things, especially if you can't sleep at night," John offered him his advice and left it at that. Andy nodded and then left the meeting.

He walked to his car and sat inside for a while before placing the key in the ignition and driving home.

Meanwhile, Ricky and Sharon were still watching the movie on TV. The movie was a real sappy one where nothing was realistic and the boy fell in love with the girl. He couldn't believe he was watching this but that's what his mom had on when he came to sit with her. He shot a glance over at her and saw that she had fallen asleep.

He decided to carefully get up off the couch without disturbing her and lowered the volume on the TV. He glanced up and looked out the windows just as Andy was pulling the car into the driveway. Ricky walked back into the kitchen and put his laptop away in its bag. He then heard Andy open the back door.

"Hey," Ricky greeted him as Andy entered the kitchen. "Hey," Andy tossed his keys onto the counter. Ricky thought that perhaps the meeting wasn't a good one judging by the way Andy entered the house. "How is she?" Andy asked him as he stood there. "She fell asleep watching a movie in the family room," Ricky started. "Is everything okay?" he added, wondering about his step-father.

Andy huffed. "Just tired," he muttered and then patted Ricky's shoulder. "Thank you for staying with her," he added as he continued to walk towards the family room. "Sure," Ricky answered but realized Andy was too far away to hear his response. Ricky then texted Emily to find out when they were coming back.

Andy stepped into the family room and saw Sharon asleep on the couch. He sat down next to her and watched her sleep, not in some creepy way, but in a loving you with all my heart way. His eyes started to well up with tears and he choked back a sob. He closed his eyes and a tear started to fall down his face. He reached for Sharon's hands underneath the blanket and held them in his.

He took a deep breath but kept his eyes closed as he tried to regain his composure. Ricky watched his step-father with his mother from the hallway and saw him breakdown. He knew then and there that Andy would have done anything for his mom and felt bad when he accused him otherwise at the hospital. He turned around and went back into the kitchen.

Sharon opened her eyes and saw Andy with tears coming down his face as he sat next to her, holding onto her hands. "Andy," she whispered and that got his attention. He quickly wiped his eyes with his hand and looked at her. She sat up further and pulled him into her arms and held him as he sobbed into her chest. "Shhh, let it out honey, it's okay," she soothingly told him.

Minutes passed by as Sharon still held Andy to her. "I'm crushing you," he finally stated as he tried to pull away from her embrace. "You're fine," she reassured him and reluctantly released her grip on him. He sat up and looked at her. "I'm going to have to swear you to secrecy now," he chuckled and she smiled. She reached out with her hand and ran her fingers through his hair. "Do you want to tell me what's really going on?" she asked as he looked at her.

"You were fine at the hospital," she started to tell him as she ran her hand from his hair down his neck. "In fact, you were the one who kept telling me that we were going to take it one day at a time," she added and he let out a small laugh. "You've been so strong for me, for our family, this past year, Andy, please tell me what's going on with you," she said, almost pleading with him.

He sat there and listened to her, watching her closely as she ran her hand through his hair and down his neck. "Every time I close my eyes, I see you getting shot, you bleeding, you in the hospital," he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her hand went to his back and she rubbed it. "Andy, I know what you're going through. It happened to me when you were shot this year," Sharon told him.

"And when I was held hostage at that bank, after you got me out, all I kept seeing when I closed my eyes were the bank robbers and everything that happened," she told him, trying to refresh his memory so that he would know he wasn't alone in feeling that way. "I know, that was another time I couldn't close my eyes without seeing you with a gun to your head," Andy nodded.

"We worked through all of that, and we'll work through this too," Sharon smiled as she caressed his cheek. Andy shook his head. "This is different somehow because I felt like I really could have lost you, and you're still not a 100 percent out of the woods yet," he swallowed as he looked into her eyes. "I know," she simply said to him.

"I feel like I failed you and the kids, by not protecting you," he mumbled a few seconds later. "What? You didn't fail me, Andy, or the children," she whispered. "You protected me, got us both out of that building, under fire from those men. That wasn't easy to do, but you managed to do it, getting me to the hospital," she trailed off as she got lost in his eyes. He looked broken and she held him till the rest of the family came home.

TBC


	17. Chapter 17

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

 **A/N:** Thank you everyone for the wonderful reviews on this story! There will be one or two more chapters after this one, but I am already working on the next continuation when this one ends.

Chapter 17

After dinner was finished, the Flynn household was all gathered in the family room. Sharon and Andy were sitting on the couch with Matthew, while Emily and Rusty were sitting on the two chairs and Ricky was sitting on the floor, with Moxie lying next to him. They all gathered around the coffee table and were playing the board game _Clue_.

They were playing on teams. It was Andy and Matthew, Sharon and Ricky, and Emily and Rusty. It was Ricky's turn to roll the dice and he rolled a 12. Sharon moved their person 12 spots and headed from the Kitchen to the Dining Room on the board. Her and Ricky then looked at their scorecard to decide who they were going to call out next.

"Hmm, I think we should say this," Sharon whispered to Ricky as she pointed to the scorecard. Andy watched her and chuckled. "Don't be sneaky now," he called to her and she looked up at him and smiled. Ricky agreed with his mom's decision and nodded for her to say it out loud. "Mrs. Peacock, with the Knife, in the Dining Room!" Sharon declared and Andy looked at their scorecard, hoping to see one of those listed but he hung his head and shook it.

Sharon smiled and then looked over at Rusty and Emily who were looking at their scorecard as well but they also shook their heads, not having anything that Sharon had called out. Ricky was excited that they were about to win the game. He picked up the envelope and pulled out the following cards: Mrs. Peacock, the knife, and the dining room, and laid them all out on the board. "Woo hoo everyone!" he called out.

Sharon clapped her hands in excitement from winning the game as she looked at everyone else. "Yeah, yeah, you won Ricky because you had the best detective on your team!" Rusty stated to him and Andy shot him a look. "Hey!" he called out in protest to Rusty's remark. "No offense Andy, you're pretty good too, but she's mom and she outranks you," Rusty stated.

"No offense taken kid, she is the best," Andy said and gave Sharon a wink which made Sharon blush. "Should we play another round?" asked Emily as she gathered all of the cards together and started to separate them into three piles. "Sure, but this time I get your mother on my team," Andy declared as he passed out scorecards to everyone.

"How's that fair?" Ricky replied. "Yeah, two detectives from the Major Crimes division against everyone else?" Rusty stated as he looked at the two of them. "Fine, how about me, Matthew, and Andy versus the three of you?" Sharon chimed in as she looked at her children. Ricky, Rusty, and Emily all sat there looking at their mom. They felt that they could beat them at this game so they all agreed. "Okay, you're on!" Emily answered for them, not giving it another thought.

Sharon scooted closer to Matthew and Andy and as Emily dealt the cards to each team, Andy handed them to Sharon who marked the ones they had on the scorecard. Matthew kept smiling at the other three across the coffee table as they took down the cards that they had received. "What's the deal?" Rusty asked as he watched Matthew. Matthew just shrugged his shoulders and kept smiling. Ricky gave him a look like he was up to no good.

"He thinks that by being on Mom and Andy's team, he's going to win this round," Emily stated as she glanced at Matthew. "Matthew, be nice to your brothers and sister, even though they are going to lose," Andy snickered at them, all in good fun of course. Sharon flashed her Darth Raydor glare at all of them and Andy cleared his throat. "Okay, who rolls first?" he asked. "We do!" Rusty said as he picked up the dice and the game began again.

Each team took their turns and gave their guesses. Sharon marked down what she thought was the correct weapon of choice and showed it to Andy and Matthew. Andy nodded in agreement and Matthew gave a thumbs up. Emily watched her mother point to something on the scorecard but she couldn't tell what she was alluding to. Both Sharon and Andy threw them off course as they doubled guessed on two of their turns and then threw in one of the cards that they already had.

Emily, Ricky, and Rusty then conferred with each other over their next guess and decided on the direction of the room they were going towards. Ricky rolled a 7 and Rusty moved their piece from the Ball Room to the Billiard Room. Emily announced their guess. "Miss Scarlet, with the Pipe, in the Billiard Room," she stated as she looked at her mom, Andy, and Matthew.

Sharon paused a moment, which led them to believe that their answer might be the correct one. She then glanced at Andy and he nodded to her. She then pulled out one of the two cards that they had not shown yet. It was the Pipe. Emily gave a confused look as she saw the card. "But you guessed Miss Scarlet and the Pipe a couple of times before," Rusty stated. "Of course they did, Rusty! They want to throw us all off!" Ricky claimed as he shook his head at his mom.

Andy, Sharon, and Matthew's piece was currently located in the Library. Her children were right with the room guess, just not with the other two guesses. Matthew rolled the dice and 5 came up. Andy moved their piece from the Library to the Billiard Room. "Here it comes," Ricky mumbled under his breath as he knew they were about to lose the game.

Sharon conferred with Andy and Matthew one more time and they were all in agreement. "Okay, we're going to say Professor Plum, with the Rope, in the Billiard Room!" Matthew smiled at his siblings as they all shook their heads. Sharon reached over and pulled the three cards from the envelope which revealed Professor Plum, the Rope, and the Billiard Room. She laid them all out on the board. "Nice game guys," Andy said as he leaned over and kissed Sharon.

Sharon leaned back against the couch and watched her children clean up the game. "We should have known better than to let two detectives team up together," Rusty shook his head as he helped Emily clear the coffee table. "This was a lot of fun, guys, I'm glad you suggested it, Emily," Sharon smiled at her daughter as she placed the game box back on the shelf with the other games.

"Says the person who won twice tonight!" Emily stated back to her as she came around and sat down on the couch. "How are you feeling, Mom?" she asked as she placed her arm on the back of the couch. "I'm fine, better than the last couple of days," Sharon answered her, knowing that she was concerned. "I know that you're going to watch me like a hawk the next week or so, but please remember I can take care of myself," she smiled at her daughter.

"We all know that Mom, we just wants what's best for you and for you to get better," Emily stated as Ricky and Rusty were also still there. "Yeah Mom, we don't want you to overdo it," Ricky chimed in and Sharon looked at her children.

"I'm going to head up to my place now," Rusty said to Sharon and gave her a kiss goodnight. "Tomorrow morning, I am going with Andy to drop Matthew off at school. We have a meeting with his teacher before classes start," Sharon reminded him if he stopped over tomorrow morning before he went to work and didn't see her. "Right, I'll check in on the both of you in the afternoon then" he replied and headed out the door.

Andy had taken Moxie outside in the backyard and had told Matthew to go upstairs and put his pajamas on. He also told him to get everything ready for school tomorrow as they were going to meet with his teacher in the morning. Matthew was dreading that but he knew that's what had to happen. He came back downstairs in his Batman pajamas and walked to the mud room where he checked his back pack and made sure everything he needed was inside.

Andy then came back inside the house with Moxie and saw Matthew checking his back pack. "You got everything buddy?" he asked him as he closed the back door and locked it for the night. "Yes," Matthew mumbled and zipped up his back pack and hung it back on the hook. Matthew then took off with Moxie and went to the front of the house. "Your mother and I will be up in a bit to tuck you in!" Andy called out to him as he saw Matthew run up the stairs and Moxie following him.

Andy then walked into the kitchen and saw Ricky standing by the counter looking at Sharon's pills. "Mom says she needs her pain medication," he told Andy as he opened the correct bottle and took out one pill. He already had a glass of water for her poured as Andy watched him. "Ricky, I just want to say that I appreciated you coming down here," Andy said as he scratched the back of his head.

"She's my mother," he shrugged his shoulders acting like it was no big deal for him to come down as he looked at Andy. "I know you think that your mother and I have dangerous jobs, we do, but it's not an everyday occurrence that she gets shot at," Andy took a deep breath as he spoke to him. Ricky chuckled. "Did she tell you that I asked her that when you were at your meeting?" he asked him.

"She did mention something to me along those lines. I just want to reassure you, and everyone for that matter, that I'm looking out for your mother and I will do my damndest to protect her no matter what," Andy told him, looking him straight in the eye. "I know you will, Andy," Ricky smiled at his step-father and placed his hand on his shoulder. He then turned around and brought his mother her medication she needed.

Andy then followed Ricky back to the family room and noticed Emily and Sharon talking. Sharon glanced up as Ricky brought her the pain medication and a glass of water. "Thank you," she smiled as she took them from him. She quickly took her pill and then placed the glass of water on the coffee table. Andy stood behind the couch. "I told Matthew we would be up in a bit to tuck him in," he leaned down and Sharon nodded.

"It's getting late and you guys have an early morning," Emily stood up from the couch. "Yes, we may have an early morning, but your mother will be taking it easy the rest of the day," Andy pointed out, reminding Sharon. Sharon nodded and dismissed his worry as she stood up from the couch slowly. "I'll make sure she does Andy, and Mom, don't overdo it talking to the kid's teacher!" Emily stated as she watched her mom and Andy head upstairs.

"So, what time are you leaving tomorrow?" Emily asked Ricky as they cleaned up the family room. "Uh, well I was going to leave early tomorrow morning, but I may wait until traffic dies down before heading back North," Ricky stated as he brought a dish to the kitchen and followed Emily upstairs. "Okay, good night," Emily told him and then went into the guest room she was staying in.

Ricky waved at her and then glanced at Matthew's room and saw them tucking him in for the night. Watching that brought back some childhood memories for him. He envied Matthew, and how he was the lucky one to have found two loving parents. He smiled and headed towards the other guest room and closed the door.

"You're all set for school tomorrow?" Sharon asked Matthew as she sat down on the edge of his bed. "Yes," he mumbled as he laid there, wondering how tomorrow morning was going to go for him. "Mom? Do I have to be there when you meet with my teacher?" he asked, knowing the answer but hoping for a change. Sharon smiled at him and ran her right hand through his hair. "I'm afraid so, sweetie," she told him as Andy watched them both.

"I promise you'll feel better once you tell her the truth," she added as she stood up from the bed and held onto Andy's arm for a second. "Good night sweetie," Sharon bent down and kissed his cheek. "Night Mom, night Dad," Matthew said to both of them and Andy nodded to him. "Night buddy," Andy said and then followed Sharon out of his room and closed the door behind them.

"Alright, my dear, let's get you ready for bed," Andy stated as the two of them walked into their room. Sharon yawned as she walked into their bathroom, and looked around to see that her pajamas were already laid out on the sink. Also waiting there was new gauze, tape, and some cream for her wounds. Andy then stepped in to join her and she was overcome emotionally.

"Hey, what is it?" he whispered to her as he saw her starting to cry. "I'm sorry but you are so good to me, taking care of me, I just," she got choked up. "Shhh, I think we both have done enough crying today for the rest of the year, don't you agree?" he told her as he soothed her back and pulled her into his chest. "Yes," she muffled as he held her.

He then helped her take her current clothes off, and helped her into her pajama pants. He then took off the old dressing and gauze on her wounds and cleaned them, placing a new dressing and gauze over both of them. He then helped her with her pajama shirt. He looked at her and gave her a smile, kissing her lips before stepping out of the bathroom and getting ready himself.

Once she was finished, she exited the bathroom and saw that Andy had turned down their bed and he was sitting at the foot of their bed. She gently sat down on her side and he helped her get into bed, pulling the covers up to her waist. He then went into their bathroom and brushed his teeth and finished getting himself ready.

He shut the bathroom lights off and turned out the main overhead light, leaving the soft glow coming from the lamp on Sharon's nightstand. He slipped into their bed and pulled the covers up. Turning on his side, he reached for Sharon's hand as he gently nuzzled himself next to her. He kissed her good night, placing soft kisses along her neck as she smiled. "Good night my love," he whispered to her and she hummed in response. "Good night," she whispered and closed her eyes, quickly falling asleep.

Andy could hear Sharon's breathing even out as he laid there next to her. He was glad that he told her what he was feeling after he came home from his meeting this afternoon. He was hoping that now, it would calm his mind so that he could get some sleep.

The next morning, Andy woke up to an empty bed and he started to panic. He jolted out of the bed and looked around the room to see if she was sitting on the chair or in the bathroom. That's when he heard movement in the hallway. He noticed that the hallway light was on and as he opened the door, he saw Sharon walking towards him. "Where were you?" he asked her in a ragged breath. "I went downstairs for something," she held up her pill bottle as she stepped inside their room.

Andy ran his hand over his face as she passed him. "Jesus Sharon, why didn't you wake me up? I could have gotten that for you," he whispered to her as she settled on his side of their bed. "I didn't want to bother you, besides you were sleeping and you didn't get much sleep the night before," she told him, assuring him that she was fine.

He shook his head and walked back to bed as she took her pain medication. He went on her side of the bed and quickly glanced at the clock. It was 3:23 in the morning. He watched her sit on his side and wondered about her.

"How long have you been up?" he asked her as she laid back down next to him. She took a deep breath. "Maybe an hour or so," she sighed. She had some mild discomfort on her left side before and that's what had woken her up. "I had some pain that woke me up, it was discomforting at first but then I thought I should just take a pill instead of waiting it out," she told him. "I'm sorry," he said as he laid there with her.

She then curled up on her right side and laid her head on his shoulder. "Is this better for you?" he whispered, wondering if sleeping on his usual side of the bed was better for her. "For you to hold me, yes," she told him and smiled as she closed her eyes once again. He laid there holding her close to him, careful not to put pressure on her left side.

Andy hoped that she would be able to stay home these next two weeks and obey her doctor's orders without putting up a fight with him. He was glad that Emily was staying to make sure she did exactly that. He closed his eyes and eventually, fell asleep.

TBC


	18. Chapter 18

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

 **A/N:** MC might have ended last night, but the stories will continue here...

Chapter 18

Sharon woke up that morning to the sound of Andy's alarm going off. She started to untangle herself from his arms but found that to be difficult to do. She didn't want to hurt her side and the way that Andy had his arms wrapped around her, it would be a stretch. "Andy," she whispered to him in his ear and he started to stir himself. He rubbed her arm with his hand. "Hmm, turn the alarm off, want to stay here with you," he said in his sleepy voice.

She smiled at him. "I can't turn the alarm off unless you release your hold on me," she whispered and he held her closer to him, which made her chuckle slightly. "Andy," she shook her head, hoping he would get the picture and release her from his hold. He grunted but still held her to him. "Sweetheart, we need to get up," she coaxed him by slipping her hand underneath his t-shirt and ran her fingers over his stomach.

"You're in dangerous territory there Mrs. Flynn," he mumbled as he opened his eyes and saw her looking at him. "Time to get up," she told him as she gave him a warm smile. She was getting him worked up and he moaned as her fingers moved up his chest. "You keep doing that and we'll be breaking one of the rules the doctor told you to avoid for these next two weeks," he groaned as he started to sit up.

He released her so that she was able to sit up and turn the alarm off. He ran his hand through his hair and shook his head, trying to calm himself down before he stood up from bed. He went over to the other side and met Sharon as she stood up and walked towards the bathroom. "Let me know if you need help," he flashed his grin and she nodded. He then went into their closet and picked out a suit for himself to wear today.

Sharon was in the bathroom in front of the sink, washing her face. As she was wiping her face dry with a towel, she accidently knocked her hairbrush off of the vanity shelf and it clattered onto the floor. Andy heard the noise and he opened the bathroom door. "Sharon?" he called out. "It's fine, I just dropped my hair brush," she said waving him off. He bent over and picked up her brush for her. "I could have gotten it," she huffed.

"Doctor said not to bend over," he simply told her and flashed her his smile. She looked defeated as she stood there so he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a gentle hug. "Better?" he asked as he rubbed her back gently. "Uh huh," she muttered into his chest and they stood there in the bathroom for a couple of minutes before she broke their embrace.

"I'm going to get some clothes for me to wear, what suit are you wearing today?" she asked him as she walked out of the bathroom. He followed her into their closet and stopped short of the door so that she could have her space, if she needed. "The dark grey one," he answered her as he leaned up against the door frame.

She then pulled out a dress shirt for him and a blue tie along with suspenders to match. She handed them to him as he always enjoyed watching her pick out those items for him. She picked out a pair of nice jeans and a blue sweater for her to wear.

She followed Andy back into the bathroom and he started the shower. "You can go first," he graciously stated and she gave him a small smile. He helped her get undressed and then placed the saran wrap over her two wounds, carefully making sure they were covered. "You're gorgeous," he whispered to her and she blushed, shaking her head slightly.

"You are," he said as he helped her step into the shower. She stopped him before he joined her. "I can do this," she said giving him a warm smile. He sighed, shook his head, and reluctantly let her shower by herself. "I'll be right here in case you need me," he told her as he stood next to the shower. "Thank you," she smiled and he closed the shower door.

The spray felt good on her skin as she stood underneath it, eyes closed. It took her a couple of minutes before she started to rub her body wash over her skin. Sharon realized that she couldn't rub her shampoo on her hair and heard a gentle knock on the shower door. The door then opened slightly and Andy peeked through the door slit. "I'll wash your hair for you," he smiled, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist.

Sharon was going to become emotional again as he took off his towel and stepped inside the shower with her. "I love you," she said to him as he started to rub her shampoo on her hair, making sure he was super gentle with his rubs. Sharon felt relaxed as she stood there. After he made sure that he shampooed all of her hair, he took the shower head and detached it, holding it over her hair, rinsing all of the shampoo out.

He then turned around and placed the shower head back in its place before leaning over to take her bottle of conditioner in his hand. As he did this, Sharon got dizzy but Andy was able to brace herself against him. "Hey, you okay?" he asked as he held her, forgoing the conditioner bottle that he dropped, hearing it clatter against the shower floor.

"Yes, sorry, I just got dizzy there for a second," she answered him as he held her. He looked at her face, her eyes were closed. "Sharon," he said in his husky voice. She opened her eyes and looked at him. "You're trying to do too much," barely above a whisper he told her. Her face grimaced and she felt a little twinge in her side. He watched her before he turned the shower off.

"What are you doing?" she asked him as he opened the shower door. "Getting you out of the shower," he informed her as he took a step out and then helped her step out onto the floor. He wrapped a towel around her body and quickly placed one around himself before pulling her into his embrace. Her hair was wet as he placed his head against hers.

They stood there like that for a few more minutes before the cooler air started to thin out the steam from the shower and goosebumps appeared on Sharon's arms. "Let's get you warm and into your clothes," he suggested as he pulled away from her and moved the towel around her body, being gentle as he possibly could. He then took a dry towel and wrapped her hair in it before placing it on top of her head.

He helped her get dressed and then dried her hair for her, brushing it through occasionally with her hair brush. "I can get the rest, Andy, you need to get yourself dressed," she told him as she looked at the clock and saw the time. "In a minute, babe, I'm almost finished here," he shook his head as he held the blow dryer against her hair. Truth be told, he had no idea what he was doing with drying Sharon's hair but he watched her a couple of times in the past and saw how she did it, and to him, it didn't look that hard to do.

He saw the frustrated look on Sharon's face as she sat there and he ran his hand through her hair, feeling that a majority of her hair was dry. He turned off the hair dryer and handed Sharon her hair brush. "I think you're pretty good here with your hair being dry, um, I don't know how you fix it up though," his voice was sheepish which made him even more lovable to Sharon. "Thank you, if I need anything else, I'll let you know, but you need to get dressed now," she smiled and he nodded.

Andy then turned around, removed his towel, and got dressed. He put his suit pants on and an undershirt and then walked over to the mirror over the sink. He examined his face and rubbed his hand over his jaw and mouth. He decided he wasn't going to shave this morning and instead, he put his dress shirt on.

"You're not shaving?" Sharon asked him. "No, it will take too long, besides I thought you liked the gruff look," he flashed his charming grin to her and she reached out, rubbing her hand on his jaw. "I do," she whispered and then she grabbed his tie and placed it around his neck. "I got it," he gave her a wink and then tied his tie.

She stood there watching him get himself ready and suddenly she felt like there was something missing. Usually she would tie his tie for him, but she couldn't do that due to the fact that she couldn't raise her left arm high enough. Andy then turned to Sharon and noticed a sad look had fallen over her face. "Hey," he said breaking her concentration. She took a deep breath and looked at him. "Ready?" he asked her and she nodded her head.

They walked out of the bathroom together and Sharon went to sit down on the chair while Andy went into their closet. "What shoes do you want to wear?" he asked her as he was looking over her collection of shoes. "My brown boots," she told him and he stood there scratching his head, looking until he found the pair she was talking about.

He brought them out and knelt down in front of her. He slipped her boots on her feet. "There you are, my Cinderella," he joked and she smiled. He stood up and helped Sharon stand. He looked in her eyes as he held onto her hands for a moment. He didn't say anything but he kissed her forehead and then the two of them walked out in to the hallway.

Matthew was coming out of the bathroom and he was already dressed. "Good morning sweetie," Sharon said to him as he walked by her. "Morning," he yawned as he went back to his room, Moxie following him. She turned to Andy. "I'm going to see if Emily and Ricky are up yet, why don't you go downstairs and get breakfast started," she told him. Andy gave her a look. "I'll be fine going down the stairs by myself," she assured him.

Andy didn't like that she was already trying to be independent this morning. He was reluctant with her taking a shower by herself, and he had every right to be. She became dizzy in there and luckily he was there to catch her. Now, she wanted him to get breakfast ready and she would come down by herself later. "Sharon," he started to protest but she put her hand on his arm. "I'm fine, really," she smiled and then turned to go towards the guest rooms.

He stood there watching her until Matthew came out of his room with Moxie. Andy turned around to see him standing there and Moxie had already gone down the stairs. He knew the dog had to go out, so he gestured for Matthew to head downstairs and he followed him.

Sharon knocked on Emily's door and heard her say "come in,". "Oh good, you're up," Sharon opened the door and slipped inside the room. Emily was sitting up in bed on her phone. "Yeah, I guess I'm still on East Coast time," she shrugged her shoulders as Sharon sat down on the edge of the bed. "I just wanted to let you know that we are going to be leaving here soon to take Matthew to school," Sharon informed her.

"Right Mom, and then you have your meeting with his teacher, and then Andy is bringing you back here and I'm hanging out with you the rest of the day," Emily stated. Sharon smiled at her daughter. "You are going to do plenty of resting and relaxing!" she added as she sat up and placed her hand on her mom's. "Hmm, that sounds almost like an order," Sharon grinned, knowing that Andy had probably pulled Emily to the side since she's been here, and gave her 'orders for mom'.

"Only because we love you and we want you to get better so that you are back to taking 'dirt bags', as Andy puts it, off the streets of LA, Mom," Emily, using air quotes as she told her mom. Sharon shook her head. "My husband has already corrupted my children," Sharon mused and then slowly stood back up. "I'll see you later," she smiled to Emily and then walked out of her room.

She walked to the next room across the hall and knocked on the door. She didn't hear anything so she slowly opened the door and saw Ricky still sound asleep. She didn't want to wake him so she closed the door and walked back to where Emily was in the other guest room. "What time did your brother say he was leaving this morning?" Sharon asked her as she peeked inside the room again.

"He told me he was going to wait for the morning rush to die down before he drove back North," Emily told her as she looked up from her phone. "Okay," Sharon smiled. "I'm sure you will be back before he leaves, Mom," Emily stated and Sharon nodded, then gave her a wave and headed towards the stairs.

Sharon took one step at a time as she made her way down the stairs to the main floor of their house. She could hear Matthew and Andy talking in the kitchen about something as she made her way closer to the room. "Morning Matthew," she interrupted them as she walked into the kitchen and ran her hand along the back of his chair. "Morning," grumbled Matthew as he ate his bowl of oatmeal.

Sharon gave Andy a look and Andy just shook his head which meant he would tell her later. She moved on and sat down at the table across from Matthew. Andy placed her yogurt cup along with some fresh fruit and wheat toast down in front of her. He then brought her pills over to her. "Thank you," she smiled as he went back to the stove and placed some oatmeal in a bowl for himself. Andy then joined them at the kitchen table and they all ate their breakfast.

Before they left to take Matthew to school, Emily came downstairs and sat at the kitchen table as Andy helped make Matthew's lunch with him. "Hey Matthew, come over here please," Emily told Matthew and he walked from the counter to where she was sitting at the table. She then whispered something in his ear and he nodded and then gave her a hug before returning back to the counter and placing what Andy had handed him into his lunch box.

Sharon looked at Emily after, wondering what she had told him. "Ready?" Andy asked Sharon as he put his suit jacket on and grabbed his car keys. Sharon turned to him and smiled. "Yes," she said as she stood up from the table as Matthew went to get his back pack. Andy handed Sharon her purse and she took it from him and then headed towards the back door.

"We should be back in two hours, at the most," Andy told Emily and she waved to all of them. "Bye," she told them and then she went about her morning, making breakfast for herself as they left, Moxie following her around the kitchen.

Matthew ran to the side door of the garage as Andy walked with Sharon. "Do we even know what we're going to tell his teacher when we meet this morning?" he asked as he held her hand. "I'm going to give Matthew the opportunity to say something to her and if he doesn't, then I will tell her," she stated as she placed her head on his shoulder as they walked together.

Andy opened the door and Matthew pressed the button for the garage door to open. He then opened the back door of the car and got inside. Andy looked at Sharon as they approached the car. "Well, at least he's eager to go instead of dreading it like last night and at breakfast," he told her as he opened her door and she stepped inside the car.

Andy then went around to the driver's side and got in himself, starting the car, and backing out of the garage into the driveway. Matthew was quiet the whole ride over to his school, and when Andy pulled into the school's parking lot, that's when Matthew finally spoke.

"I think I'm going to throw up," he rumbled as Andy parked and turned the car off. Andy then turned in his seat to look at their son. "Take a deep breath, you'll be fine," he told him and then glanced at Sharon. Andy got out of the car and went around to open Matthew's door and then Sharon's door. Matthew climbed out and saw a few kids go inside the school. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as Andy helped Sharon out of the car.

Matthew looked at Sharon and then at Andy. He then grabbed Sharon's hand and they walked towards the school together. "Remember when that bad guy was inside the school and you came to rescue us?" Matthew spoke, nervously as they walked. "Yes," Sharon nodded, remembering the incident Matthew spoke about. "Remember when that bully was here?" Matthew stated as they all stepped inside the school and headed over to his classroom.

"Yes," Sharon said, wondering why Matthew was taking a trip down memory lane all of a sudden. They came up to his classroom and Andy reached to open the door. "Wait!" Matthew stated and stopped Andy. "What is it?" Sharon looked at Matthew. "I don't know if I can do this," he confessed as the three of them stood in the hallway. "We'll be right there with you, buddy," Andy told him and patted him on his shoulder.

Andy then opened the door to the classroom and the three of them walked inside the room and were greeted by the teacher.

TBC


	19. Chapter 19

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

Chapter 19

Matthew sat in front of his teacher next to his parents as they settled in for their meeting. "So I understand you wanted to speak to me about the last math test that Matthew took," his teacher said as she sat at the table with them. "Yes, something was brought to my husband's and my attention this past Saturday and we both felt that it needed to be addressed with you as well," Sharon told her.

"Oh, well, sure, I have his test right here," the teacher said as she pulled it out of a folder and laid it on the table. "Matthew, do you have something to say to your teacher?" Sharon asked and looked at him as he sat next to her. Matthew looked down at the table and then back at his teacher. "I'm sorry Miss Filar, I didn't mean to forge my dad's signature on the test," Matthew came clean and his teacher was a little bit shocked.

Miss Filar looked at Matthew first and then at Sharon and Andy. "Matthew, I can't believe you would do such a thing," she said to him as she crossed her arms in front of her. "I didn't want my parents to know that I had failed that test," Matthew muttered, not looking at his teacher. "Why didn't you tell me when you were on the playground Friday?" she asked him but he didn't answer her, he just sat there.

Miss Filar then looked to Sharon and Andy for some answers. "Miss Filar, my husband and I knew that something had been bothering Matthew for about a week, and we asked him if everything was alright with school and other things and he fooled us, and he is being punished for doing that," Sharon informed his teacher.

"Right," Miss Filar stated and looked at the clock. It was almost time for school to start and the rest of the kids would be showing up soon. "Matthew could you go over by the book library in the corner for a couple of minutes while I talk with your parents, please?" Miss Filar asked him and he stood up from his seat and went over to the book library in the room. He fiddled with some books while trying to keep an eye on the adults.

"Mr. and Mrs. Flynn, I just want to say I appreciate you coming in this morning and letting me know what exactly happened. I am glad that Matthew finally told me. I had been worried about him when I saw him sitting alone on the playground on Friday. You see, that rarely ever happens, because Matthew has a lot of friends in class. He's been through a lot, and I'm wondering if he should see someone professional, to just talk about things that might be on his mind," Miss Filar said to them.

Both Sharon and Andy looked at each other while Sharon squeezed his hand gently as Matthew's teacher spoke. "With his background and everything else that had happened to him," she continued but Andy interrupted her. "So, you think the reason he did this was because he was acting up due to being an adopted kid?" Andy stated, in a somewhat mad state. "Andy," Sharon almost scolded him right there and gave him a look.

"Look, I'm not telling you how to be a parent, but, my father was in law enforcement as well, just like the both of you, and when I was growing up, I acted out a lot because of the uncertainty that was brought on whenever my father would put on his uniform and walk out our door," she said and Sharon listened to her while Andy just sat there. "I just think it would benefit Matthew if he had someone else to talk to him, besides his parents, that know what he could be possibly going through," she ended and then the bell rang.

"That's the first bell, meaning the kids should be coming into the room soon," Miss Filar stood up from the table and so did Sharon and Andy. "Thank you, Miss Filar. We will certainly look into your suggestion," Sharon told her and she shook her hand. "Yeah, thank you," Andy muttered and shook her hand anyway. Sharon turned around to see what Matthew was doing.

"Matthew," she called him over to where they were standing. "Your dad and I are leaving now, be good, be kind, and be safe," Sharon whispered to him as she gave him a hug. "Emily and I will come pick you up today when you get out of school," she told him and he nodded. He then went to his desk and placed his back pack on top of his desk and started to take things out of it, placing the items inside his desk.

Sharon and Andy waved to the teacher as they left and the rest of the kids started to enter the classroom. They walked out of the school and back to the car, the whole time Andy was holding Sharon's hand in his. "You didn't have to jump down his teacher's throat when she suggested that Matthew see a psychologist," Sharon told him. "I didn't jump down her throat," Andy protested as they continued.

"Do you think he needs to talk to a psychologist?" Sharon asked Andy as they walked up to the car. "I don't know. If the kid needs someone to talk to, then maybe it's not a bad idea," he sighed and shrugged his shoulders as he held open her door for her to get in.

He joined her inside the car a few seconds later. "Remember when I had called Doctor Joe, when we first brought him to the PAB?" Sharon asked as Andy started the car and drove her back home. "He seemed to open up to him from what I remember," Andy added. "Maybe that's not a bad idea," she stated as she looked out the window.

Forty minutes later, they pulled into their driveway and Andy turned the car off before he turned to Sharon. "Now, promise me you'll let Emily take care of you while I'm at work, don't worry about work or if we get called to another case, or anything like that, okay?" Andy looked at her and gave her a small smile. "I promise," she told him and leaned in to kiss him.

They got out of the car and headed inside the house. Ricky was now up, dressed, and standing in their kitchen when they came in. "There's the happy couple!" he greeted them as they entered the kitchen. Andy shook his head and let out a small chuckle as Sharon greeted her son. "Morning trouble maker!" she gave him a hug and he gently hugged her back. "Mom," he muttered.

"Where's Emily?" she asked him as she leaned up against the island. "She's upstairs taking a shower, and I'm going to leave here around 11 to head back," Ricky said to them. "Okay, well I was hoping to talk to your sister before I left for work, but I'll just text her later this morning," Andy told them. He needed to be at the range before 10 to get his weapon back from FID.

"What did you want to tell me?" just then Emily walked into the kitchen, her hair still in a towel but she was dressed otherwise. "Oh, well," Andy said and looked at Sharon. "Um, why don't you walk me out?" he told Emily. "Behave yourself, I love you," Andy told Sharon and gave her a quick kiss. "I love you too, good luck at the range," she told him and he gave her a wink.

"Ricky, thank you," Andy shook Ricky's hand and gave him a firm handshake in return. "Take care Andy," Ricky told him and then watched his sister and his step-father walk towards the back of the house. "What do you think he's telling her?" he asked his mother as they stood there. "Oh, I'm sure it has something to do with me," she shrugged her shoulders.

"Hey, so I know your mom can be stubborn, but she and I made a deal to let you take care of her while I'm at work. So, if she gives you a hard time, call me," Andy told Emily as he stood by the back door. "Don't worry Andy, I think I can handle Mom," Emily chuckled. Andy shook his head. "Okay," he smiled and then exited the house. He walked back to his car and got inside. He had plenty of time to get down to the range and qualify. He backed down the driveway and headed to work.

Meanwhile, Emily returned to the kitchen to her mom and Ricky sitting at the kitchen table. "So, how was the meeting with Matthew's teacher?" Emily asked her as she sat down to join them. "Oh, it was fine. She's very nice," Sharon said but held back on mentioning a psychologist. Emily looked at Ricky and he shrugged his shoulders subtly.

"Well, I'm going to get going now," Ricky stated as he stood up from the table. "Now, I thought you were going to leave around 11 this morning?" Sharon started to get up but Ricky encouraged her to sit back down. "Oh, well, I want to leave you two women alone to talk about gossip or watch Hallmark movies, you know, girl things," Ricky told her as he bent down and kissed her cheek.

"Oh, I'm going to miss you Ricky," she stated as he pulled back. "Emily, take care of mom, don't let her finagle her way into working today or this week," Ricky pointed at Emily. "I won't," Emily chuckled and looked at Sharon. Ricky then went upstairs to get his bag from the guest room.

"So what did Andy say to you when he was leaving?" she asked her daughter briefly. "Hmm, nice try Mom but I'm not going to divulge that information," Emily told her and Sharon was shocked. "My own daughter, is turning against me?" she gestured with her hand against her chest, motioning that she was hurt. "It's not like that Mom!" Emily gestured with her hands on her hips.

"And now my son is leaving early," Sharon added as Ricky came back with his duffle bag and messenger bag slung over his shoulder. "Mom, come on, you know I was leaving this morning, don't try to guilt me now," Ricky hammered back as he stood there looking at her. "I know dear, I'm not trying to guilt you or anyone for that matter," she said as she glanced at Emily.

Sharon stood up and gave Ricky a hug. "Be careful driving. Please call me when you get back to your place," she told him. "I will Mom," Ricky told her and then he went over to hug his sister. "Bye, take care of mom," he hugged her slightly and she walked him to the door. "See ya!" she waved to him as he walked out to the driveway and got into his car.

Emily then turned around and saw her mom tidying up in the kitchen. "Mom! What do you think you're doing?" she asked her. "I just wanted to put some things away," Sharon said innocently. "No, I will do that, you need to rest and relax! Now, go sit down either in the kitchen or the family room and I will be there in a couple of minutes," Emily told her. "Fine," she huffed and went to sit back down at the kitchen table.

Meanwhile, Andy pulled into the PAB's parking garage and parked the car in their usual spot. It felt strange to him not to have Sharon there as he got out of the car and headed towards the elevators. He pressed the call button for the elevator and waited for the doors to open. He stepped inside and pressed the button for the floor where the range was located.

When the elevator doors opened again, Andy stepped off and headed down to the range office where Sergeant Elliot was waiting for him. "Lieutenant, good to see you again," Elliot said as he shook Andy's hand. "Here's your weapon back so you can go qualify," he said as he handed Andy's weapon, unloaded to him. "Thanks," Andy muttered and then went to the range master to grab a box of ammunition before heading to one of the range slots.

Andy stood there and loaded his duty weapon. He then placed his eye and ear protection on before the range master walked over to him. "Okay Lieutenant, you know the drill, 120 is passing, and 150 is the highest. Good luck, whenever you're ready," he told him and Andy nodded. He then placed his weapon back in his side holster and waited for the target to turn.

Andy went through the course of fire, and when he was finished, the target came back to him and it was scored by the range master. "148, very good Lieutenant!" the range master told Andy and marked his target and slip with the words 'Qualified'. "Thanks!" Andy said as he cleaned his weapon, reloaded it for duty carry, and then placed it back in his side holster.

As Andy was walking back to the elevators he waved at the range master, who was sitting inside the office, and continued to walk towards the elevators. He pulled out his phone to see if there were any messages from Sharon or Emily, but there weren't any. He sighed and then stepped back onto the elevator and went to the ninth floor.

He stepped out of the elevator and headed to the office. When he walked inside, everyone was there sitting at their desks working on other paper work. "Flynn! Glad to see you are back," Provenza said as he looked over his crossword puzzle. "Yeah thanks," he glanced at his friend as he made his way to his desk.

He looked at Sharon's office for about a minute before he was greeted by Julio. "Lieutenant, how's the Commander feeling, sir?" Julio asked and shook Andy's hand. "She's doing okay, trying to get her to listen to the Doctor's orders, but you know how stubborn she is," he told him and he nodded. "Yes, I do sir," Julio chuckled and then returned to his desk.

Meanwhile, back at the house, Sharon and Emily were sitting around the family room watching a really sappy, love movie on the Hallmark Channel. "Why is it that every movie either involves a man who is looking for love and finds it with his best friend, or a woman popping into a strange town, and finding love there?" Emily asked out loud. "Don't forget, there's always a dog involved too," Sharon said as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"Mom, are you crying? Seriously?" Emily asked her as she was now focusing on her and not the movie. "It's a good movie so far," Sharon simply said as she wiped another tear. A half hour later, Emily was blowing her nose and wiping a tear from her eye as well.

Sharon looked over at her and passed her the box of Kleenex. "See, I told you it was a good movie," she smiled at her daughter and they both laughed a little bit.

Back at the office, it was still quiet, which gave the team some extra time to look over whatever cases they had and finish reports that needed to be done. Andy sat at his desk and pulled out Croelick's folder again from his drawer. Now since they turned over their robbery subjects to the FBI, maybe he could finally figure out how Croelick was involved in the forest fire and the dead girl's body.

He started to do some research on the computer when Andrea Hobbs walked into the office. "Morning everyone," she greeted them all and then spotted Andy at his desk. "Lieutenant Flynn, just the person I was looking for," she walked over to him, carrying a folder with her. Andy looked up. "Oh, hey Andrea," he placed Croelick's folder back into his desk drawer and closed it. "Is this a bad time?" she asked him. "No, what do you need?" he asked and then gestured for her to follow him into the conference room.

They walked into the conference room and Andy leaned on one of the chairs. "What's up?" he asked her. "I just wanted to let you know that I filed charges on Blake Harper and Leon Murphy this morning for attempted murder of a peace officer and assault of a peace officer with a semiautomatic weapon," Andrea told him. "They were at the arraignment and they both pleaded guilty," she continued as she handed the folder to Andy and he read it.

"I won't need your or Sharon's testimony since there will not be a trial," she added. "Well, that's good news then," Andy let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding since he started reading the document. "How's she doing, by the way?" she asked him and he glanced up at her. "She's okay, Emily's with her right now. I'm sure later in the week, she'll be getting stir crazy. At least that's how I was, but, uh, you should call her, I'm sure she'd be glad to hear from you," Andy told her and then handed the paper back to her.

"And how are you holding up?" she asked him, noticing something was off with him. Andy took a deep breath before he answered her. "I'm okay, hanging in there, you know," he shrugged his shoulders as he stood there. "Maybe you should talk to someone?" she stated and he looked at her. "Just a suggestion, you don't have to take my advice," she added, noticing that Andy's expression on his face had changed.

"I should get back to my office. Take care, Lieutenant and tell Sharon I'll give her a call," Andrea left the room and headed back to her office leaving Andy standing in the conference room, just thinking.

A minute or two later, he sat back down at his desk and contemplated on what he should do. He could contact behavioral sciences and see someone from there, maybe it was good to talk about it with a third party. He shook his head because he didn't want to relive everything again. He and Sharon were good, they spoke about what they were feeling since the shooting, and he had to get her better. He decided on concentrating on that for now, besides, they also had to discuss whether or not Matthew was going to see Doctor Joe again.

TBC


	20. Chapter 20

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

 **A/N:** Thank you everyone and guest reviewers for the wonderful reviews that you have left on this story. I really appreciate them!

Chapter 20

Sharon sat on the couch, watching another movie with her daughter. They had just eaten lunch that Emily had prepared, following the diet that the doctor had given Sharon. Sharon glanced at her phone that was on the coffee table and picked it up. "Mom, are you calling someone?" Emily quickly asked her.

She glanced at her daughter and gave her a look. "No, I just wanted to see if maybe I missed a call or something like that," Sharon sadly looked back at her phone. No new messages or missed calls. She sighed as she placed the phone back down and focused back on the new movie they were watching.

Just then, her phone alerted her to a text message. Sharon practically jumped as she reached again for her phone. She saw the message was from Andy and she clicked on it. 'Hey, just wanted to check in on you and see how you were doing XO' she read and a smile returned to her face. "I'm just going to reply to Andy, nothing to be alarmed about," she warned Emily before she could protest as she sat there.

'I'm okay. Emily and I are watching a movie and we just had lunch. How are you doing?' she replied back to him and sent the message, waiting for it to say 'delivered' underneath it. 'Good to hear. Just basic paperwork day here, saw your favorite FID man and qualified this morning. Going to pick up Matthew and we'll be home at our normal time' he replied back and as Sharon read his message she realized he never said how he was doing.

She sighed as she placed her phone back on the coffee table. "What's wrong Mom?" Emily asked as she moved closer to her on the couch. "I'm just worried about Andy," she waved her daughter off and wanted to get back into watching the movie. "You two were definitely made for each other," Emily huffed as she sat back against the couch.

Sharon chose to ignore that last comment from her daughter and instead, rubbed her forehead with her right fingers. Sharon decided that she needed her pain medication but instead of asking Emily to get it for her, she stood up from the couch and wavered slightly. Emily was right by her side and placed her arms on her to steady herself.

"Mom," she whispered as she looked at her. Sharon's eyes were closed and she slowly opened them. "I'm fine, really. I was just going to get my pain medication from the kitchen," she said. "Sit down, and I'll go get it for you," Emily told her as she helped her sit back down on the couch. Sharon sat there, and grimaced as the pain turned into a dull ache. Emily quickly hurried into the kitchen and grabbed her mother's pain medication, bringing that back with a glass of water and offered it to her.

Sharon took the medication and the glass of water. "Thank you," she muttered and took one of the pills and drank the water afterwards. "Is that the first time you felt dizzy today?" Emily asked concerned about her. "No," she whispered and shook her head slightly. "Since you've been home this morning?" Emily pried further. "I felt dizzy when I was in the shower this morning but Andy was right there to catch me," Sharon stated.

"Mom," Emily pleaded but Sharon stopped her. "Don't tell me I'm doing too much, because I'm not doing anything. I'm resting and relaxing here, trying to keep my mind off of work and everything that's involved with that, while being a mother to four wonderful kids, trying to figure out what's troubling Matthew, and helping my husband overcome his fears that he's been living with ever since I was shot," Sharon rambled and Emily sat there and listened to her.

Emily was shocked by what her mom blurted out. "Is there anything you need me to do to make things easier for you, or for Andy?" she asked. Sharon looked at her and smiled. "I'm sorry sweetie, you are helping us, really, by staying here and keeping an eye on me, well I know that eases Andy's mind. We're working on the rest of it," Sharon assured her.

"What exactly did Matthew do that got him grounded by you and Andy?" Emily asked. "He didn't tell you?" Sharon thought she knew already but Emily shook her head no. "He forged Andy's signature on a math test that he failed, and he didn't want us to know about it, but he had been acting so out of sorts for the past week and a half, maybe, that Andy and I knew something was going on," Sharon explained to her.

"I guess he told Ricky about it when Ricky picked him up Saturday from the baseball camp. He finally told us that night after we had confronted him," Sharon said. "Oh come on now, Mom, I think you know how to handle a 10 year old acting up like that, I mean you raised Ricky, he acted up all the time," Emily smiled and Sharon chuckled.

"Matthew is different because of his background. When we found him, he was super shy and had witnessed his mom being murdered. We had him see Doctor Joe for a little while and he seemed to be doing okay. His teacher mentioned it again this morning that maybe he needed someone to talk to that wasn't his parents or related to him," Sharon mentioned. "But that's something I need to discus with Andy, not you," she added and Emily understood.

"What about Andy? Are you worried that he wants a drink, after you were shot?" Emily asked her quietly and Sharon thought for a moment before answering. "No, I don't believe he wants a drink, or that he would ever drink. He has a support system that works for him and he knows, unlike your father, what's at stake if he ever did take another sip," Sharon told her and she knew Emily wouldn't repeat it to anyone else.

"He's been having nightmares and trouble sleeping at night," she said quietly and Emily reached for her mother's hand and held it. "There's only two that I know of but both times, he was completely shaken to the core," Sharon continued. "He feels like he failed me and all of you because he couldn't protect me and I think that's haunting him," she added and squeezed Emily's hand. "I'm sorry Mom, I didn't know he was going through this," Emily responded.

"He puts on a good front, but, I know him well enough and I've been through almost everything with him to know when he's hurting and when he needs a push," she looked at her daughter. "Emily, you cannot say or repeat any of this to anyone, especially Andy. I mean it! No one, got it?" she was stern enough that Emily understood. "I promise," she responded and gave her mom a hug.

The rest of the day went without any issues both at home where Sharon and Emily talked about Emily trying out for another dance company to Andy sitting at his desk, trying to re-read Croelick's folder. His concentration was broken when Provenza walked over to him at his desk. "What is that you're working on?" he asked him.

Andy sighed and showed him Croelick's folder. "Why on Earth are you reading about him?!" Provenza spoke louder and Andy tried to quiet him down. "Would you stop!" Andy told him and then looked around the office at everyone else. That's when he noticed that no one had looked over at them and he was grateful for that.

"Look, I needed a distraction and while everyone else worked on their things, I thought I would take the opportunity to look up a few things on him," Andy explained to his friend as he stood next to his desk. "Why do you need a distraction?" Provenza asked him, wondering what was going on. Andy sighed and rubbed his head with his hand. "Because I'm worried about Sharon and I can't stop thinking that if she doesn't recover from this, I don't know what I'll do," Andy told him and Provenza knew his friend and simply nodded his reply.

"Come on, Let's grab a distraction together in the break room," Provenza suggested and Andy stood up from his desk, placing the folder back in his drawer and then following his friend out into the hallway towards the break room.

"You want some tea, coffee?" Provenza asked him as they both walked into the break room. Provenza headed behind the counter and started to make some coffee for himself. "Ah, I think I'll just have water," Andy replied and walked over to the vending machine, taking out a dollar bill and some coins. "Water?! Really?" Provenza protested at his friend.

Andy pressed the button for water and a water bottle was dropped in the bottom bin of the vending machine. He picked it up and walked over to a table and sat down, waiting for Provenza to join him. "Alright, what's going on with you? And don't tell me it's nothing!" Provenza asked Andy as he sat down across from him.

"What makes you think something's wrong?" Andy asked him as he took a sip of water. "Because you're drinking water, you haven't had tea or coffee this whole day, which is unusual for you, and you're obsessing about Croelick again," Provenza stated as he leaned forward in his seat. "So come on, spill it!" he added and waited for Andy to say something.

"Alright," Andy took a deep breath before continuing. "Ever since Sharon got shot, I've been having nightmares, about losing her, and they're different each time. I see her getting shot in that apartment building, on the street, I see her coding in the hospital, I just can't shake it," he started as Provenza listened to him.

"I've broken down in front of Sharon, twice already. I just need her to get better. I know her kids need her, Nicole needs her, and yes this team needs her. I don't want to be selfish, but I need her the most," Andy confessed to his friend as he sat in front of him. "Have you talked to her about that?" Provenza asked, not meaning to pry.

"She knows about the nightmares, but thinks they've stopped," he answered him. "What about the part with you needing her the most?" Provenza asked. "Why do you think I need her to get better? Or that I'm so adamant about her following the doctor's orders to the letter?" he looked at him and then looked down at his hands on the table. "She thinks I'm overprotective," Andy added. "Well, you are," Provenza retorted.

"I don't even know why I'm telling you all of this! You're probably going to make me talk to someone now," Andy stood up from his seat and moved to the counter, spreading his arms and leaning on to it. "First of all, I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to do," Provenza started. "Second of all, I think you've forgotten but I've been with you through your whole 'dating not dating' scenario with the Commander, before she was Commander, and even when she was in charge of FID," he added.

"Now, stop feeling sorry for yourself, get her better so that she can come back to work and kick you in the ass!" Provenza ended his rant, finished his coffee and stood up. Andy turned around and looked at him. "Patrice has made you a real softie, you know that?" he said sarcastically. "Yeah, well don't tell anyone else that," Provenza huffed and then opened the door of the break room and waited for Andy to walk out before he joined him back in the Murder Room.

Meanwhile, back at the house, Sharon fell asleep on the couch and Emily was on her laptop sitting across from her on another chair. She had been researching different dance companies in New York and also here in Los Angeles. She didn't want to mention that to her mom because she didn't want to get her hopes up about moving back in the area.

"How long have I been sleeping?" Sharon asked her daughter as she slowly woke up and focused on her. "Uh, maybe an hour or so?" Emily shrugged her shoulders. "Hmm, what are you working on?" Sharon asked her as she started to sit up. "Um, just doing some research on the different dance studios I was telling you about earlier," she answered.

"Any of those dance studios here in the Los Angeles area?" Sharon asked with a smile. Emily looked at her mom and couldn't help it. "Maybe," she said, and smiled. "Yay!" Sharon sat up and clapped her hands softly. "Mom, I don't want to get your hopes up or anything about me," Emily pleaded with her. "Oh, I'm not sweetie," Sharon assured her daughter and stood up from the couch.

Emily was right by her side as she started to walk out of the family room. "Where are we going?" she asked her mom. "Well, I have to use the bathroom, but I don't need you to come in with me," Sharon simply smiled and Emily got the hint and held back a little. She watched her mom walk towards the powder room in the hallway and close the door.

Sharon looked at herself in the mirror. To her she looked a little on the pale side. She decided to splash some cool water on her face and wiped her face with a towel before using the bathroom. After she was done, she stared at herself in the mirror again, washed her hands, and then stepped out of the powder room.

"So, we should probably get dinner going here soon as Andy and Matthew will be coming home shortly," Emily stated to her as she walked out into the hallway. "Sure, let's get to it," Sharon told her and then followed her into the kitchen. "Did Rusty ever call?" Sharon asked as Emily went to the refrigerator. "Yes, he did but you were sleeping at the time," Emily answered as she pulled out some ingredients for dinner.

Sharon stood there in her kitchen and watched her daughter prepare the salmon filets she assumed they bought when Andy had sent them grocery shopping. "You know, I can help," Sharon stated as she watched Emily pour some lemon juice in a mixing bowl. She was following one of Andy's recipes. She looked at her mom and contemplated what Andy had told her this morning.

"Fine, but no bending over or no lifting on any kind, got it?" Emily told her and Sharon nodded. "Of course," she replied and went to the sink to wash her hands. "You can wash the potatoes and then wrap them in foil," Emily stated. "Oh honey, I think I know what to do with the potatoes," Sharon laughed. "Do you think Matthew wants fish?" Emily asked as she was placing the fish on a baking pan. "If he doesn't we can make him mac and cheese then," Sharon said as she placed the potatoes on top of the stove for Emily to place inside the oven.

Back in the Murder Room, everyone was getting ready to leave. Andy was packing up his things and locked up his desk. "I'll walk out with you," Provenza said to him across the room and he nodded. They were the last ones to leave the office. "Matthew's teacher thinks he needs to talk to someone, you know, besides Sharon and me," Andy said as they walked to the elevator.

"Huh, well, Rusty saw Doctor Joe, maybe he could help with whatever is troubling the kid," Provenza stated and then stepped onto the elevator. "Yeah, did I tell you what he did?" Andy followed him and then pressed the button for the parking garage. "No," Provenza mumbled. "He forged my signature on a math test that he failed, and then handed it into his teacher like it was nothing," Andy started to get mad just thinking about it.

Provenza let out a laugh when he heard that. "It's not funny!" Andy quipped back at his partner. "Sorry," Provenza tried to clear his throat. "Oh come on Flynn, like you never did that when you were 10," Provenza stated as he stepped out of the elevator. Andy reluctantly followed him. "No, but I did far worse things that won't be mentioned," Andy stated as he caught up to him. "Well, there you go," Provenza concluded and Andy stopped by his car. "See you tomorrow!" Provenza waved as he kept walking towards his car.

"Yeah," muttered Andy as he unlocked his car and got in. He started the car and then drove to Matthew's school to pick him up.

TBC


	21. Chapter 21

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

 **A/N:** Well everyone, we have come to the last chapter of this story. However, a new story, _Sidelined_ , will pick up right where this one ends. I hope you have enjoyed reading this story and continue to read the next one!

Chapter 21

When he got to Matthew's school, Andy pulled into the parking lot and parked his car. He then got out and walked into the school. As he stepped inside, he heard a commotion coming from the hallway and saw two students fighting. "Hey!" Andy yelled out and then a teacher came out of the room and tried to break up the fight.

Andy ran over to the area and saw that one of the kids was Matthew. "Matthew?" Andy yelled at the boy as he helped the teacher pull the two kids apart. "Oh I see your dad is here now to rescue you, Matty," the other kid spat out. "Hey! Show some respect," Andy shouted back to the kid as he pulled Matthew to the side of the hall.

Andy looked over Matthew but only saw a cut on his lip. "What happened?" he asked him as the other teacher and now the principal rushed over to the area. "Lieutenant Flynn," Principal Gottardo stated as she came up to both of the kids. "What exactly happened here?" she asked the two boys who were separated.

"Sorry Mrs. Gottardo," they both said in unison. "Fighting in school is not allowed. Billy, I'm going to call your parents," she told him but just then, Billy's dad walked into the school to pick him up. "Hey what's going on here?" his father asked. "Your kid was beating up my kid when I got here not five minutes ago," Andy told the other father. "Is that true Billy?" his father asked him. "Yes," Billy answered quietly. "We are really sorry about this. It won't happen again. Is your son okay?" the father asked Andy. Andy looked at Matthew who was now sitting on a chair in the hallway and had his head down.

"Lieutenant, if I could have a word with you and Billy's father for a second, please," Mrs. Gottardo stated and then walked away from the boys. "I'll be right back," Andy turned to Matthew and told him before he joined the principal and the other father. Matthew stared at the other kid. Billy was in 7th grade but he stayed after school like Matthew so that's how they interacted.

"Fighting is not tolerated in this school, period," Mrs. Gottardo stated to them. Andy looked at her and then at the other boy's father. "Now, both Matthew and Billy will have to serve a punishment. For 1 week, they will be held inside my office during lunch and recess," she continued. "Matthew was just defending himself, I'm sure. He wouldn't start a fight," Andy stated. "Oh, so you're saying my kid started this?" Billy's father jumped in.

"Gentlemen, please. Regardless of who started the fight, they were both caught fighting with each other. As their parents, I will need you to sign a paper acknowledging the fact that they were fighting and that you are aware of the punishment," she stated to them and they both nodded in acknowledgment.

'This is not what Sharon needs right now' Andy thought to himself as he signed the paper and handed it back to the principal. The other father noticed that Andy had his badge clipped to his belt when he turned around. "You a cop?" the father asked him as they both walked back to the area where the boys were sitting with the teacher. "Yeah," Andy muttered and then gestured for Matthew to get his things so they could go home.

They left the school and walked back towards the car. Andy held the door open for Matthew who didn't say a word as he got in the back seat. He then shut the door and went around to the driver's side, getting in and starting the car. "Mind telling me what that was really all about?" he turned around to face Matthew. Matthew didn't say anything. "Because when I tell your mom about this, it's not going to go well," Andy added as Matthew looked out the window.

"He was making fun of me," Matthew finally muttered as Andy watched him. "What did he say?" he asked. "He kept teasing me about being adopted and how my real parents didn't want me and that I was adopted because you felt sorry for me," Matthew started crying and Andy hung his head. He got out of the car and went into the back seat to sit next to Matthew.

"You know that's not true at all, Matthew," Andy started to console his son but he kept crying. Andy pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Matthew to wipe his tears away. "How do you even know that kid, he's much older and bigger than you?" he asked him. "He's in the after school care, he's in 7th grade," Matthew muttered between tears.

Andy placed his arm around Matthew and they sat there in the back seat for a couple of minutes. "Matthew, how many times has your mom and I told you that fighting is not the answer," Andy broke the silence after Matthew wiped his tears away. "He pushed me first as I was getting a drink of water from the drinking fountain in the hallway," Matthew told him. "I went to get a teacher but then he started to make fun of me, calling me a tattle-tail and other names," he added.

"Okay, okay. Well, we're going to have to tell mom this, and for a week, you are going to be eating lunch and sitting in the principal's office for recess," Andy told him. "That's okay," Matthew muttered as he wiped his face with the back of his hand. "Alright, let me give mom a heads up and then we'll go home," Andy said and stepped out of the vehicle.

He called Sharon on his cell phone. "Hey, what are you doing?" he asked her. "I'm sitting in the kitchen because Emily would only let me do certain things to help with dinner. Where are you?" Sharon asked him over the phone. "Just leaving Matthew's school now," he said and she looked at the clock in the kitchen. "Is everything okay?" she asked wondering.

"Well, when I walked in the school I saw two kids fighting in the hallway. I yelled out for them to stop and a teacher came out to break them apart. As I got closer, one of the kids was Matthew," Andy told her and then braced himself for her to start shouting into the phone.

"What!?" she shouted into the phone and Andy moved the phone back from his ear. "Hey, listen, calm down first. He's okay, just a little cut on his lip. The principal gave them both a punishment and I had to sign some paper acknowledging that, okay?" Andy said in a calm voice. "Okay," Sharon replied trying to keep herself calm.

"Now, Matthew just told me that the reason he was fighting with this boy, who by the way is in 7th grade and much bigger than him, is that this boy, named Billy, was making fun of him because he's adopted, and how his real parents didn't want him and that he was only adopted by us because we felt sorry for him," Andy explained to her.

Hearing Andy tell her that just broke her heart. Could that be why Matthew had been acting up lately? she thought. "I told him that wasn't true, but I think we are going to have to talk with him tonight, maybe after dinner, or before dinner if you want," he said and she nodded as she listened to him. She glanced over at Emily. "Okay, I'll see you in a bit," she told him. "Drive carefully," she added. "I will," he said and hung up his phone, putting it back in his pocket and then getting back into the driver's seat.

He glanced at Matthew in the rear view mirror and saw that he was now staring out the window, still holding the handkerchief in his hands. Andy started the car and drove them back home.

"What happened?" Emily asked her mom as she hung up her phone. "Matthew got into a fight at school, sounds like just as Andy was walking inside to pick him up," Sharon told her. "Wow, that's crazy!" Emily told her as she opened the can of vegetables and placed them in a saucepan and placed that on the stove. "Yeah, so," Sharon took a deep breath.

"Mom, you just need to remember that you are recovering, and you need to stay calm," she reminded her. "Of course I know that," Sharon stated as she sat there thinking of how they were going to handle this. "I told him over and over again that fighting is not the solution," Sharon added as Emily came over to sit at the table with her. "Maybe this will help in your decision to have him see Doctor Joe now," Emily suggested as they sat there.

Fifteen minutes later, Andy pulled the car up the driveway and parked inside the garage. "You okay buddy?" he looked at Matthew in the rear view mirror again and saw him with his head down. "Yeah," he mumbled and then undid his seat belt and grabbed his backpack. Andy got out of the car and went around to where Matthew was standing outside of the car.

Andy knelt down and looked at Matthew so that they were on the same eye level. "Hey, I want you to remember one thing, okay?" Andy started to tell him and Matthew nodded. "Your mother and I love you very much, and no matter what anyone else says to you, you are our kid, and nothing will change that," he told him and then gave him a hug.

Andy then stood up, using the car for support, and they both walked towards the back door of the house. Andy unlocked the door and Matthew stepped inside first, dropping his backpack off in the mud room before proceeding into the kitchen. Andy followed right behind him and as soon as they stepped inside, Sharon stood up and greeted them.

"Hi," she said to Matthew and he just stood there, not knowing what to say. He didn't want to look at her so his head was looking down instead. Sharon then glanced at Andy and then she returned her attention to Matthew. "Matthew? Can you look at me?" she asked him and Matthew raised his head to look at her. She saw that his lip was cut a little and there was some dried blood there.

"I'm sorry Mom," Matthew quietly muttered to her and Sharon held out her arms and he gave her a hug. "Oh Matthew," she whispered to him as she held him. "We need to talk," she told him as she glanced over at Andy who was still standing by the counter watching them.

"What time will dinner be ready?" Andy asked Emily who was still in the kitchen. "Maybe 10 more minutes?" she said as she checked the oven. "Why don't we go in the family room and talk, okay?" Andy ushered both Sharon and Matthew towards that room, leaving Emily in the kitchen.

Matthew and Sharon sat down on the couch and Andy sat down on one of the chairs closest to them. "Tell me what happened, first of all," Sharon said to Matthew as she looked at his face. "I went to the after school care like I normally do and sat down at one of the desks and started doing my homework," Matthew started to explain.

"Billy walked in with one of his friends and they sat down at the table across from where I was sitting," Matthew continued. "He was teasing me about being adopted but I ignored him and continued doing my homework. The teacher came over and spoke to Billy. After I was done with my homework, I went over to the library area in the room and was looking at a couple of books that I wanted to read. You know, trying to pass the time until Dad came to pick me up. Then I went outside for a drink of water from the water fountain and Billy followed me there," he added.

Sharon looked at him and then over at Andy with a sad expression on her face. She wondered how long this Billy had been bullying Matthew. "Matthew, did you ever have any other interactions with this kid? Maybe on the playground or something like that?" Sharon asked him. Matthew thought about it but his answer was no. "Then what happened?" she asked. "He pushed me first as I was getting a drink of water from the drinking fountain in the hallway," Matthew told him. "I went to get a teacher but then he started to make fun of me, calling me a tattle-tail and other names," he added

"He kept teasing me about being adopted and how my real parents didn't want me and that I was adopted because you felt sorry for me," he continued. "Oh Matthew, you know that is not true at all," Sharon wrapped right arm around Matthew and pulled him into her right side as they sat on the couch. "Your father and I love you very much. And you know your birth mother loved you very much as well, she did what she could do to give you a good life. We were very lucky to find you Matthew, and we wanted to take care of you," Sharon explained to him.

"I don't mean to interrupt but dinner's ready now," Emily cleared her throat and stood at the entrance to the family room. Andy looked over at her. "Thanks," he nodded and stood up, waiting for Sharon and Matthew to be ready.

"Come on, let's have some dinner and then I'll go over your homework with you and maybe even read you a bed time story, how's that?" Sharon asked Matthew as she shifted on the couch. Matthew nodded and started to stand up. "But, we are going to discuss why fighting is not the answer, after dinner," Sharon told him sternly and he nodded again.

Matthew went into the kitchen ahead of Andy and Sharon, while Andy waited for her. He walked over to her and gave her a hug. She sighed into his embrace and buried her head into his shoulder. "Seems like a lot of things at once, doesn't it?" Andy whispered into her ear and she nodded her head as he held her to him. "How are you doing?" he asked her as he rubbed her back. "I'm okay," she said but it was muffled by his shoulder.

Sharon pulled back after a tear started to fall and wiped her eye. "Let's go eat, and after we are done with everything tonight, I'm going to pamper you," Andy told her as he ran his hand along her jaw. She pursed her lips and then smiled. He gave her a smile and then held his hand out for her to grab and they walked into the kitchen together.

After they ate dinner, Sharon sat in the dining room with Matthew and went over his homework with him. Rusty had stopped by after he got out of work and was eating dinner in the kitchen. Emily kept him company while Andy joined Sharon and Matthew in the dining room.

"So how are things going in here?" he said as he sat down across the table from Sharon and Matthew. Sharon looked up at him and gave him a worried look. He then watched Matthew erase some of his answers with the pencil eraser and start over again. Andy reached his arm across the table and held out his hand for Sharon to take. He then rubbed his thumb over her hand as they waited for Matthew to be finished with his math problem.

Matthew showed the paper to Sharon and she looked it over. "Very good, now put this away," she handed him the paper and he placed it in his folder. "Do you have any other homework you need to do?" she asked and he looked at his assignment notebook. "No," Matthew answered and placed his book inside his backpack.

"Good, now we need to talk about fighting," Sharon told him and he turned around in his chair to listen to her. "Now what exactly did you do when your Dad was walking into the school?" Sharon asked Matthew. "Billy jumped on top of me and I was wrestling with him on the ground," Matthew answered quietly.

"Did you punch Billy?" she asked him. "No," he answered. "Did he punch you?" Andy asked him. Matthew shook his head no. "We were just wrestling and he was calling me names still and that's when the teacher came out and then I heard Dad yelling at us," Matthew stated. "How did you get your lip cut?" Sharon asked him as she brushed her finger across his bottom lip. Matthew shrugged his shoulders because he honestly didn't know how that happened.

"Dad tells me that you will be sitting in the principal's office for lunch and recess for the next week," Sharon told Matthew and he nodded. "I was defending myself," Matthew pleaded. "I know," Sharon said as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "It was a bad situation and I'm sorry you found yourself in that," she added. "However, your father and I will both tell you that fighting, punching someone, or whatever the case may be, is not an option unless it is absolutely necessary," Sharon told him.

"But, don't you get into fights with people at work?" Matthew finally asked Andy after he paused a couple of seconds. Andy didn't know how to answer that question. "That's totally different, Matthew," Andy answered him. Matthew fidgeted in his chair. "How is that different?" he asked. "Well, sometimes the bad guys put up a fight, and in order to control the situation, yes, sometimes I fight back with them," Andy stated.

"So, here's what's going to happen," Sharon started to tell Matthew. "You will be serving your punishment from school at school, and when you come home, you will not be watching any TV," Sharon explained to him and he nodded. "Can I go to my room now?" Matthew asked. Andy and Sharon looked at each other. "Hang on one second buddy," Andy said as Sharon continued to tell Matthew what else was going to happen.

"There's one more thing we need to discuss," Sharon told him. "Matthew, we noticed that for the past couple of weeks, there has been something that's been bothering you. Now, we've asked you if everything was okay, and you said yes, but then we find out that you kept a big secret from us about your math test and now you got into a fight at school. We just want to know what it is that's troubling you," Sharon said and Matthew fidgeted with his hands.

"Do you remember Doctor Joe? You saw him when we first found you," Sharon told him, trying to see if he remembered him. Matthew nodded. "Yes, I remember him," Matthew muttered. "Well, your father and I think it would be good for you to talk to someone, other than us, about what's been going on with you," Sharon explained. "You want me to see a doctor?" he asked.

"Hey, Doctor Joe is here to help you, just like your mother and me. But, if you don't want to tell us, or maybe you think we don't understand, what's been going on with you, then Doctor Joe is the next best person," Andy tried explaining to him as he sat there. "Okay, so what can I do right now?" Matthew asked them. "Well, you could play with your toys in your room, or read a book, or hang out with your brother and sister, who are still in the kitchen," Sharon told him.

Matthew thought about it and then got up from his chair. "I'll go play with my toys in my room," he said and then he ran up the stairs. Moxie, who was laying down in the dining room, also got up and followed Matthew up the stairs.

Sharon let out a breath as she still sat there with Andy. "I'll call Doctor Joe tomorrow morning and see when he's available," she said to him. "It'll get better," he smiled, trying to reassure her. He then stood up from his chair and walked over to her. "Come on, I'm supposed to pamper you now," he winked and leaned down to kiss her. She hummed into his kiss. "And how are you going to do that?" she asked as he pulled away. "Oh, I'm full of surprises!" he smiled.

Andy poked his head in the kitchen where Emily and Rusty were sitting and talking. "We're going to head upstairs now. I want your Mom to relax a little, just make sure you guys clean up down here when you're done," he said to them. "We will Andy," Emily said and waved to her step-father. "How do you think Andy's going to get Mom to relax?" she asked Rusty as they sat there. "Ugh, I don't want to picture anything!" Rusty said in disgust and Emily just laughed.

"Ready?" Andy walked up to Sharon who was waiting in the hallway for him and she nodded. They both walked up the stairs and Sharon just wanted to make sure Matthew was okay. She saw him playing with his Batman figurines and the playset that went with them. She smiled and then turned around and followed Andy in to their bedroom.

"Now I know you can't soak in the tub with your stitches, but I thought you could sit on the edge of the tub and soak your legs and feet in the water," Andy explained as Sharon joined him in the bathroom. She looked around and saw candles and rose petals scattered throughout the bathroom. "Andy, when did you have time to do all of this?" she asked him as she covered her mouth with her hand.

"In between dinner and our talk with Matthew," Andy shrugged his shoulders. "Here, I have everything laid out for you to wear, I can help you undress and put these pair of shorts on," he told her as he shut the bathroom door. He did help her and once she was sitting on the edge of the tub, he lit all of the candles in the room.

"So, tell me what happened at work today," she asked as she sat there while he massaged her shoulders. "Andrea stopped by, those two dirt bags that shot at us and hit you pleaded guilty this morning so there'll be no trial," he explained to her as he rubbed his hands on a tender spot. "That's good news I guess," she responded and then closed her eyes. She let out a hiss as Andy massaged her shoulder.

"Are you okay? Did I hurt you? Is this too much?" he rambled, stopping his hands and bending down to gauge her reaction. "I'm fine, Andy," she promised him as she looked at his eyes. "Just a little sore there," she assured him and he continued gently massaging her shoulders. He felt her relaxing into his hands.

Later on that evening, Sharon was lying in bed waiting for Andy to join her. He was in Matthew's room tucking him in bed. "Do you and Mom both want me to talk to Doctor Joe?" he asked him as he pulled the covers over him. Moxie jumped on the bed and laid down next to Matthew. "Well, I think it's a good idea to have someone to talk to, sometimes it helps," Andy told Matthew.

He looked at the kid and he seemed a little down. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with talking to someone either, okay? Your brother Rusty saw Doctor Joe for a long time, and he helped him," Andy said as Matthew hugged his Goofy stuffed animal. "When will I go see him?" Matthew asked as he yawned. "Mom has to call him and see when he's available. Now, get some rest," Andy told him and then turned on the lamp next to his bed and he shut off the overhead light as he made his way out the door.

Andy walked into their bedroom and closed the door behind him. He walked over to their bed and noticed that Sharon was laying on his side. It helped her sleep better if she laid there so he wasn't going to object. He climbed into bed and joined her. She snuggled close to him and he wrapped his arms around her, gently holding her. "Everything okay?" she asked him. "Yeah, Matthew's tucked in his bed and you're tucked in here with me," he whispered to her and she smiled.

"Emily's in her guest room and Rusty went to his place, so yes, everything is okay," he continued. Sharon settled in his arms and closed her eyes. "Good night," she whispered. "Good night," he kissed her head but he didn't fall asleep.

It was 3 o'clock the next morning when Andy's phone rang. He had reached over to answer it, waking Sharon up in the meantime. "Flynn," he said into his phone. "Andy, it's Tao, we got a dead body over in the Palisades, discovered by the owners of the house," Mike told him over the phone. Andy glanced over at Sharon who was now propped up on her right arm watching him. He rubbed his eyes. "Text the address to me, I should be leaving in 20 minutes," he told Mike and then hung up his phone.

Sharon swung her legs over the side of the bed and started to get up. Andy saw this as he was getting out of bed and went over to her side. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked as he rubbed his hand over his face. "I was going to help you get ready," she simply told him as she stood up from their bed and looked at him. She ran her hand through his hair and he smiled. "You need to get back into bed, Sharon," he told her as he ran his hand down her right arm.

"Doctor's orders," he spoke softly to her when she didn't budge. "The Doctor said I couldn't go to work, not that I couldn't help you get ready when you get called out to a crime scene," she ran her hand down his chest and his breath shuddered. "Commander, as your Lieutenant I must insist you get back into bed," he whispered to her and then gently took her in his arms and moved her back to sit on the bed.

"Fine," she finally conceded. "But, I want you to call me when you are done at the crime scene and tell me what is going on, deal?" Sharon was insisting on that part. Andy helped her get back into bed and pulled the covers over her. He leaned down and kissed her on her lips. "Maybe," he whispered as he pulled away and got himself dressed.

Once he was dressed and ready, he walked back over to Sharon, who was still awake and leaned down again to give her a kiss. "Be careful," she told him. "I will, now go back to sleep," he told her and then he left their bedroom. Andy made his way downstairs and grabbed his car keys. He then headed out the door and got into his car, driving away towards Pacific Palisades and the crime scene.

The End


End file.
